A gal I used to work with would crack me up by yelping "That's not very Christian-like! I'm gonna pray for youuuuu!" whenever I was being bad. She'd say this as a joke because there are few people in the world with a less profane mouth than this gal. Heh! I miss working with her.
Anyway...I'm having one of those days where I don't feel at all Christian-like, in the serious sense of the word. I went to church in good spirits, but about ten minutes into the service, I lost all thoughts of love, patience, and understanding. Why? Because one of the younger members (18 or so) began coughing loudly, wetly, and vigorously. It was obvious that she wasn't bothering to cover her mouth or didn't have a cough drop at her disposal. Nor did she get up to get a drink of water. Nope, she sat there and coughed...and continued to cough...and cough...and cough....and cough. She sounded like she had either a juicy case of bronchitis or maybe TB.
Here's the thing: I'm semi-germphobic in that I don't like being around people who have an obviously contagious illness. I'm prone to going from a bad cold to pneumonia, and let me tell you, that sucks. My husband, who used to never get sick, has had half a dozen colds in as many months, courtesy of mold in his work building. Then we have several semi-frail elderly members of our church, one of whom has diminished lung capacity and another who is battling lung cancer. None of these folks needs to be exposed to the crap this gal was spraying out of her mouth every 10 to 15 seconds (yes, she was coughing that much.)
Her parents sat next to her, oblivious. And may I say stupid too? I'm sorry. That's ugly, but it's true. I like the girl, but not when she's giving an accurate portrayal of Typhoid Freaking Mary.
Sweet Baby Jesus. I'm going to hell. You betcha.
So I sat there in church, inwardly seething and thinking horrible thoughts that were not at all Christian-like. I know a cough is nearly impossible to suppress. I understand the mechanism that makes the tickle in your throat turn into a sound like a seal's bark. I'm sorry she's sick, I truly am, because she had to feel wicked bad after a solid hour of coughing. But is it too much to ask that she use a little common sense and common courtesy and stay the hell home and not infect the rest of us with her freaking germs?
By the time we left, my right eyelid was twitching, and I couldn't get my jaw to unclench. I was ashamed of myself and pissed off, all at the same time.
And now I'm grumpy. Really really grumpy.
It's too nice of a day to spend it feeling like one of the minor demons in the fourth circle of hell.
Maybe I should go back to bed.
1 comment:
I am amazingly conscious of other people's germs and I can't stand being around people who are obviously sick but still go out. Especially now that I have a baby I avoid sick people like nothing else. I usually have to give them disapproving looks down my nose and move as far away as possible.
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