It's amazing that even after 37 years...

[Redundant]

...a marching band still sets my feet tapping.   At our local remembrance service this morning, I don't do the parade thing, more a casual stroll, but the music still stirs the blood.  Delightfully I saw several "ticktocks" marching along, a ticktock is someone who swings their left arm with their left step and right arm with their right step, here's an example, watch the young Marine cadet front left of this little group.   It was a nice service and it was good to see so many people turned out, my diminished faith in mankind was briefly restored.

https://youtu.be/TAyALotznk4

[Sandy Buttcheeks]

Excellent. Might never be a drummer though !

I don't know if I had my faith restored or tried at the weekend, Red. I was sitting in the local Subway...the sandwich shop, not the train station...when a young lad in neatly pressed school uniform came in. Very polite, quietly spoken and articulate he was. Young girl (20ish?) behind the counter misheard him and started making up the wrong sandwich. Young chap told her politely and apologised if he had been misheard. Serving girly went in a wee mood and was not the most pleasant to him. Young chap got his correct sandwich, apologised again for any inconvenience and left
Upon the Buttcheeks leaving, the conversation went thus:
GIRL..."Pain in the arse, eh? Annoys me when kids get it wrong"
ME....."You got it wrong hen. I heard him order"
GIRL..."Nah, that's why he apologised, cos he got it wrong"
ME....."No, he apologised because he's been well brought up"
GIRL....derisory snort.
So why do I tell this? Well when I saw him come in, I suspected he was collecting for Poppy Day. It was just after 9am, he was out pressed and dressed, it was a special day and so it seemed logical to me. No surprise when we saw him collecting outside the local supermarket shortly after. Big surprise when we saw him there a full 5 hrs later!
The moral of my story?
I have the deepest respect for youth. They get bad press for a minority of them, but in general, they're a good bunch. Some of them are exceptionally good. It seems to have got me this year in particular. Because I lost my father? Don't know. But when I saw the young chap 5 hrs later, calling it a day and meeting up with some other cadets, I could honestly feel myself filling up with pride. Pride that some youth know and understand just what a special thing a poppy represents, and the sacrifices that people, not much older than them, made for all our freedoms. I'm a good few quid lighter this year, and delighted to be so.
I wonder if Subway girl spared a thought. I suspect not.

[Mince]

Subway girl was probably having a bad day. We all do at times. Besides, she has no choice but to work for a crap wage in Subway. That should also be taken into consideration.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

There are always choices. You can even choose to smile through a poorly paid job, on the grounds that it not only makes your customer's experience better, but your own. And you have a job - many don't.

Yes, we all have bad days, and I'm lucky enough to work in a profession where people rarely see me when I'm not focussed on the job. But I'd like to think I'd be able to hide my bad days from people who have contributed nothing to the reason I feel like crap. And it may be corny, but the kindness and smiles of other people can actually help lift the gloom - best way to get a smile is to give one.

I found Sandy's post uplifting, and positive. And I agree that the vast majority of young people are still good and deserving of respect. Even Subway girl, I'm sure. But she didn't prove it on this occasion.

[Redundant]

Nice post Sandy.   I'm heading out shortly to collect poppy boxes and collection boxes I delivered a few weeks ago, and every place I visit makes me feel better about humanity.  I've stood at tables humbled by the generosity people show, and laughed and joked with many of them.   At one supermarket I took over from a lady who, shall we say is in her more mature years.   She had moved the poppy table from inside the store to the outside, "catch more people outside" was her answer when I asked.  So I stayed outside too, and froze, and admittedly muttered the occasional curse or two about how clever an idea it was. 

[Mince]

You can even choose to smile through a poorly paid job, on the grounds that it not only makes your customer's experience better, but your own.

I do agree, and certainly in this case. But customers should also be forgiving of the occasional lapse when things are tough. I was not particularly disagreeing with anything in Sandy's post, just adding that there might be more to the situation.

And I agree that the vast majority of young people are still good and deserving of respect.

. . . provided they don't get the idea that they can make huge life-changing decisions? 

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

But customers should also be forgiving of the occasional lapse when things are tough.

But customers should also be forgiven for the occasional lapse, when they snap at a sullen Subway girl, because there are times when everyone has it tough.

. . . provided they don't get the idea that they can make huge life-changing decisions? 

Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home. My eldest was four.

[Mince]

Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home.

Right up to the point where the child says, "Okay, I'll give you one more chance!" and unpacks again?

[Redundant]

Once again a thread has been hijacked!!!   But for the record I started running away from home when I was ten, and didn't really stop until I got a bedsit just before I turned fourteen.   My favourite place was the harbour [plenty of boats in those days] but the police got wise to that, lorries, vans, cars [no alarms in those days], sheds...there was no end to my ingenuity.   No teddy bears for me though, just books.  [In hindsight a blanket might have been wiser].

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home.

Right up to the point where the child says, "Okay, I'll give you one more chance!" and unpacks again?

Trust me - it won't happen without significant bribes...and that's just the start.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Once again a thread has been hijacked!!!   But for the record I started running away from home when I was ten, and didn't really stop until I got a bedsit just before I turned fourteen.   My favourite place was the harbour [plenty of boats in those days] but the police got wise to that, lorries, vans, cars [no alarms in those days], sheds...there was no end to my ingenuity.   No teddy bears for me though, just books.  [In hindsight a blanket might have been wiser].

It's a hard life when all you have is a book to hug. Sounds like you should be writing one, Red.

[Mince]

Trust me - it won't happen without significant bribes...and that's just the start.

We won't accept the bribes, only good behaviour.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Alternate realities are fun, aren't they?

[Redundant]

It's a hard life when all you have is a book to hug. Sounds like you should be writing one, Red.

Again, with hindsight the book(s) were a dumb idea but I was addicted to reading, although in a dark shed that was not really achievable, but on a boat with the harbour lights...   That's how I used to get caught so many times on boats, I'd sit on the upper deck just so I could read, and get so lost I rarely spotted the coppers until they were standing right next to me.   Books were my escape from the reality I was in, fortunately most of the time that's no longer a need, more of a pleasure I hope I never lose.

[Mince]

Books were my escape from the reality I was in, fortunately most of the time that's no longer a need, more of a pleasure I hope I never lose.

Oh, Red, that was a huge life-changing decision to make at the age of ten. Mind you, it seems you managed to educate yourself exceptionally well, and all without the intervention of teachers.