Friday, February 3, 2012

Gramma Growley Reincarnate...

Last month, I introduced Gramma Growley here.

Last month I also indicated that one of my 101 in 1001 goals was to be a nicer, more positive person.  I am usually quite introverted, judgmental, and down right bitchy to the idiots that populate the general public.  As evidence that I have risen above my formerly negative attitude, I have this funny (in my opinion) story to tell.

A friend of ours needed some support in a rough time and asked if he could stop over for dinner.  So, being the Betty Rocker that I am, I decided to whip up some lasagna.  Not having lasagna noodles in the house, I decided to make a quick run to our local grocery store.

While in the baking aisle picking up a bread mix (Hodgson Mill European Herb and Cheese Bread yum), I overheard an elderly woman tell her husband that she could not find baking powder.  She was about 15 feet from me and it was right in front of me.  The skeptic in me told me to keep my trap shut, but new me decided to pipe up.

"Ma'am, the baking powder is right over here in front of me."  I offered with a smile as I pointed up to it.  So she strolled down and engaged me in friendly conversation.  She said that she gets so frustrated because she buys baking powder, but before she uses it all up, it tends to harden.  I listened and nodded as she lamented over her baking powder woes.

Then, as if Dr. Jekyll's evil alter ego had sprung forth, she spat out, "But what would you know?  You kids today don't know how to bake and probably don't even know what you use baking powder for."

My mind raced.  I was faced with the internal struggle to beat her old lady ass down for insulting me that way.  While I agreed with her, that most people my age do not make a lot of 'from scratch' foods, I felt it was very insulting that after I was simply trying to help her, she felt the need to slam my generation.  Hmmm...maybe if the people from her generation passed down this knowledge, more of us would be better cooks.  Haggard old bitch.

But, in an effort to be more positive, I simply smiled and asserted that I LOVED to cook and actually have my own website in which I post recipes and cooking experiences.  She turned around wordlessly and snatched the mega-size of baking powder because it was cheapest.

I really wanted to offer that maybe she should buy a smaller tin of baking powder and buy it more frequently as she needed it.  If it has been in your cupboard so long that it has petrified, it's chemical properties will no longer cause your baked good to rise anyway.

As I walked away, frustrated that my attempt at courtesy was shot down, I realized that you can't control how people will react to you.  Oh well, I smiled, knowing that I had done my part for the day.  I laughed, thinking that she was so much like my Gramma Growley and actually called mom to tell her.  She thought it was hysterical and agreed.

3 comments:

  1. I can't stop laughing!!! How rude! It makes me mad when people act that way!

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  2. It always amazes me how grouchy old people are. I swear to god that every time I try to be nice to an old person, they insult me somehow. You are a far nicer person than I am.

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  3. Don't you kind of look forward to that stage of life? Where you can be completely rude, inconsiderate, smell like cat piss, have blue hair, fart loudly in public, have an excuse to drive horribly, AND nobody questions it?

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