Talk About Class

 

      I am talking about how some people have class and some don't.  It doesn't matter how much money someone has.  Rich people are considered to be in the "Upper Class."  Royals are considered to be upper class or maybe even a higher class by themselves.  Just because someone is rich or royalty doesn't mean they have class.

 

      Defining class is very hard.  It's kind of like love.  You aren't sure how to define it but you know it when you see it.  Showing class is accomplished through some kind of action; a selfless act.  Generosity, kindness, compassion, understanding; finding a reason to do something good that is not required.  Not doing something bad that no one would ever know about can also qualify.

 

      Most people have some degree of class.  Rarely does someone act with class all the time and rarely is there a person who has no class at all.  A serial killer or a ruthless dictator might exhibit some true class at times.  The real key to being a classy person is to be classy without thinking about it beforehand or asking for a reward afterward.  If you think about it and really try, it becomes more and more natural.

 

      I was at McDonald's the other day.  I ordered a Value Meal and the bill was less than five dollars.  I gave the cashier a ten.  She gave me change for a twenty.  I immediately noticed the mistake and held out the ten dollar bill.  She looked at me and in a very snotty tone said, "What's that for?"  I said politely, "You gave me too much change."  She blushed and took it back.  What made that classy on my part was that I didn't think about it and I asked for nothing in return.  I know plenty of people who would call me a fool.  They may have no class.

 

      I was in the grocery store the other day and it was very busy.  As I pushed my cart toward the checkout lanes looking for a place in one of the lines, I stopped at the shortest.  There were three people ahead of me with full carts and directly before me an unattended full cart.  I figured the person had forgotten something and had gone to fetch it.  He or she must have been gone a little while because a gap had formed between the unattended cart and the person in line before it.  So I pushed the cart forward a little.

 

      Right then an older but seemingly physically fit lady dressed in a beautiful fur coat, manicured fingers, sparkling earrings, a fancy hairdo, and a made up face moved quickly to grab the handle of her cart while saying to me in a harsh but not overly loud tone, "Don't touch that, I was trying to find a manager, they ought to be ashamed, two lines open on a Saturday, two lines, where is that manager."  There were four lines open, but I wasn't going to argue.  She kept ranting as she left her cart again approaching one of the cashiers saying sternly, "Call a manager."

 

      I don't like waiting.  I wish I were first, but still I stood politely and calmly in line as one and then another customer was helped.  A new checker moved into the lane next to me so I started to move my cart that way.  A lady from two lanes down who had been waiting as long as I had also moved that way, so I stopped to let her in.  The man behind me used that opportunity to go around me and take my place.  I usually would not have said anything, but I did, calmly, "Sir I have been waiting longer than you."  He said, " I was here first," and faced forward.  While I stared at the back of his head, in a mild form of shock, the lady that was previously behind the rude man took my old spot and I was last in line again.  I accepted my situation and waited.

 

      If you visit someone's home for dinner, do you at least offer to help clean up?  If you borrow someone's car, do you return it clean and with a full tank of gas?  If someone takes you to dinner, do you make a point of thanking them?  If you know that someone is coming to your home, do you make some attempt to clean up and maybe have their favorite beverage on hand.  Opening doors, please, thank you, simple acts of respect, sharing, giving up your seat to someone less able, really listening and not just waiting for them to stop so you can talk about yourself; all these things show that you have class.

 

      So many people get so wrapped up in their own lives that they lose track of their manners.  The world presents such danger and confusion that survival instincts force us inside ourselves.  We must fight this and remember that the vast majority of people are good.  We do not make a mistake if we treat all people with respect and show that we have class.

 

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