"I Am A Christian"

Not too long ago, I was in our local dollar store to pick up some household items.

I wasn't in the store very long when I heard a  woman's voice that sounded upset.  Naturally, as a "curious" person, I wanted to know what was going on; so . . . I listened.  I mean, it didn't take much straining to hear her.  This woman had the kind of voice that seems to permeate the atmosphere.  (Know what I mean?)

She was asking about the price of an item.  No idea what the item was and it is not important.  She was at the register complaining that a price had been rung up that was incorrect.  The clerk was explaining that it was the price listed in the register.  The lady customer was countering, emphatically, that the price on the shelf, where she found it, was different than the price being rung up.  We've all been there.  And, it does happen that a  price can be in the register that has not been changed for a sale.  This lady did not seem to be considering the possibility of an excusable error.  In fact, she was getting quite agitated.   After a couple minutes of discussion with the clerk was getting her nowhere, she asked for the manager.  As far as I can remember, the price difference was just a matter of less than a dollar.

The manager was prompt on the scene and asked the customer to show her on what shelf in the store she found the price of this item.  The customer marched the manager straight to the shelf with the price.  The manager, seeing the issue immediately, patiently explained that her item was not in the correct location in the store.  The manager further explained that people frequently pick up items and leave them in different locations when they change their mind about a purchase.  

Apparently, this lady did not like her answer.  Her agitation was growing as could be witnessed by her volume.  Here and now, I can no longer be accused of eaves dropping; the entire occupancy of the store was within hearing range.  

The manager was leading her customer back to the register to settle the situation.  A line of customers was forming and half of this woman's purchases had been rung up.  We were in the middle of a "incomplete checkout".   


Discussion continued further as the customer was getting more and more upset.  She was insisting on the price that was on the shelf where she found the item in question.  The manager, to her credit, was even in tone, volume and patience as she continued to repeat the actuality of the situation.  This customer, for whatever reason, finally relinquished and very sharply declared, "Well, then, I don't want it." 

By this time, I had joined the line of waiting customers and could witness the situation first hand.  With, pursed lips this lady refused to say another word, pushed her money into the hand of the manager, threw her change into her purse and mumbled something under her breath.

As she turned with her cart, I could see her purse in the baby seat, which sported a decal that declared, "I am a Christian".

Amen