Those of you who know me know that I am pretty much polite to a fault. I can't help it -- it's a reflex at this point in my life. This episode this week completely took me aback.

I'm in line in a store - large, department discount chain. This is one of those stores that has twelve or so lines for service, and then you exit into an outer lane to move toward the store doors.

In the aisle next to me is a large old man in a checkered shirt, driving one of those electric shopping carts provided by such store. From the chit-chat back and forth across the cashier who is putting through my purchases, I can see that his wife is in line behind me. He is moving forward to the door, so I stop and look to see where he is, and realize I should push my cart out rather quickly, so as to not impede his way.

As I am going out the store, the cashier (very nice lady -- I always try to get in her line if possible) calls out "Miss -- you forgot your receipt!"

I push my cart to the right side of the exit aisle, and turn back to get my receipt, walking carefully around the man driving the cart, who is coming up behind me, also exiting (his wife is still putting purchases through). There is plenty of room for two or three carts (or electric carts) to drive past me on the way out. (This detail soon becomes important.).

As I turn back to push my cart out of the store, he runs his cart/chair into mine. Being Canadian, I say "oh, excuse me," (Canadians always assume it's our fault if someone runs into us).

He says "That will teach you to block people's way."

I said (I'm sure at this point I've misheard him) "Pardon me?"

He said "You put your cart deliberately in the way to block me. And you cut me off on purpose before: you looked right at me, and ran right in front of me."

So now, there I am. Healthy, relatively young, mobile, full cart of shopping, in a hurry, and being abused by a cranky old man in what amounts to an electric wheelchair.

I said "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I did not cut you off."

"You looked right at me, and cut me off!"

By now, a crowd is starting to gather, and I can feel my face heating up, but I refuse to be bullied. I say, in my best calm-the-irrational-person manner (I do teach high school, so I have lots of experience with irrational), "I'm sorry you feel that's what happened, but I did not cut you off, and I did not block your way, and you chose to run into me."

He says, "Yes you did. You did it on purpose."

I decided to cut my losses. He was old, grumpy, and mad at the world, and I happened to be handy. We really are blocking the aisle now, as my cart is basically pinned against the wall by his angled into the side of mine.

The remainder of the conversation:

I said, "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. That's not what happened, but I'm sorry if you saw it like that. Would you like to go ahead now?"

"No, you go ahead now -- that's what you wanted to start with."

"Are you sure? I certainly don't want you to feel I am in your way again."

"For God's sake, get going. I haven't got all day!"

te "!!!!!!" ach