The doors open, I enter. Upon crossing the threshhold, I feel my blood pressure start to rise. Endorphins in my brain are triggering primal urges to destroy things. Confused, the rational side of my brain tries to figure out the cause, makes up excuses. I am only going to be here a moment. Still, the rage continues to build. By the time I leave, I am grumpy and petulant. I just had to shop at a RiteAid.
It makes no sense. Upon entering a RiteAid store, I become quite grumpy. It is an experience that while amusing is hard to explain. If I have to go, it is always as a last resort. The places I would normally turn to are either closed or lacking in what it is I need. Thus, I am subjected to that wasteland known as RiteAid. The stores are always disorganized, the staff slow, sometimes surly, and almost always unhelpful. I've never had a good experience there in.
In some ways, it is a lot like road rage. There are little things that will just set some people off. By far, this is not the only situation that results in the similar physiological response. Like one of my fellow columnists, the presence of children within a few rows of me on a long plane flight is another (more on this later). Response aside, I've tried to mitigate the situation. However, at the very least I still end up in a bad mood.
As a, more or less, rational person thinking about it now, it all really does seem silly. In a sense, it gives me an idea that others should be given leaway when it seems like little things are setting them off. However, there are certain things that really make no sense, for instance abject horror to fine American cinema like ID4. At the same time, horror in response to children in small enclosed spaces makes perfect sense.
The one thought I had in relation to Betsy's article on Tuesday was one she did not quite touch on. With the banning of smoking on flights, which was a very very good thing, there was space opened up that would have worked well. The smoking areas should have been turned into 'Children Areas'. I'm sure there is a study somewhere that could link these little buggers to forms of cancer and other diseases. The obvious one is of course high blood pressure.
But anyway, I ramble. It is time to get back to figuring out my little brain.