Things to remember when you leave your cave.

Many people in this world are a-holes. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it.

Yet I am cursed with naïveté. Inconsideration never fails to shock and anger me.

However I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill acts of discourtesy that we complain about everyday. This is not about the jerk who nearly ran us over at the intersection while quacking on his cell phone, it’s not about the mulish youth who thinks that everyone should listen to his favourite chutney/soca/hip-hop song of the week  whether we want to or not while it blasts from his car, nor is it about the hoggish individual who cut in front of us in the grocery line.

I want to talk about the little things - things that are so mundane to me I can’t even understand how others fail to realise they’re being thoughtless.

One thing that really irks me is how disgusting public toilets are. I’m not a fan of using them, but when I have to I will venture into the realm of abominations for relief. Still, a single whiff of rancid air is enough to make me risk a bladder infection. Don’t leave toilet paper on the floor; stop splashing water (God I hope it’s water) around and for goodness’ sake, flush the damn toilet! Ladies, if you just used an automatic loo and it didn’t flush, please note there is usually a button or lever than you can use to flush the toilet manually, just look around. If it didn't flush the first time, try again! Rome wasn't built in a day! Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to see your stale piss. People, you don’t know when the cleaning lady will arrive, so don’t just assume someone will clean up after you. We all know that you don’t leave your bathroom at home like this (I hope) and that you think that you will only have to visit it once, but seriously.

Think.

Think of the person who has to use it next. You don’t want to have to see their business, what on earth makes you think they want to see yours? So please don’t leave us wondering how on earth that got there!

Yesterday, I was having lunch in a cafeteria. The guy across from my friend and I was impeccably dressed and eating his meal with a knife and fork exuding a level of class that most people weren’t displaying in there. Come to think of it, where did he get his knife and fork? Anyway, I really didn’t pay him any mind until he departed. I noticed then that he left his tray of leftover food behind without even a thought of throwing it in the trash and putting away his tray.

Now I know what I want for lunch!

This isn’t merely about there being additional work for the cleaners in the cafeteria.

I don’t know about you, but I sincerely hate to see half-eaten food lying exposed to flies and germs. It’s even more repulsive to think that someone might have been chewing on bones and bits of meat, and their saliva is mingling in that leftover meal. Not only that, but someone else probably wants to find a table to sit on, and more than likely they aren’t going to sit anywhere near your slobber-flavoured former meal.

Again, it’s the expectation that someone else will clean up after you.

Another thoughtless act I wanted to discuss is the matter of people walking in and out of air-conditioned places and leaving the door open. This really irritates me. Unless your hands are full, I see no reason for you to neglect this simple action. I’ve actually closed doors to air-conditioned public places just because I was walking by.

Or maybe I’m OCD.

Though when you really think about it, leaving a door open when the air-conditioning is running is wasting energy.

Simply because it isn’t your house and somebody else is paying for it suddenly makes it okay for you to waste it right? Then you complain that mall prices are way too high. Well they are compensating for the costs you’re incurring genius!

The last and biggest of these little things is the issue of manners. I know what you’re thinking. Having manners is an everyday thing. Maybe, but I don’t think most people realise how far something so seemingly insignificant can go. Five years ago I was the third car down the line at a gas station. The female gas attendant seemed bored at her job, pumping gas with no words being exchanged between herself or the drivers beyond finding out how much they want, super or premium. When it was my turn, I wished the woman good morning and asked for how much gas I wanted, super, please. I gave her my money, she gave me my change, I said, ‘Thank you,” and then something unusual happened: the woman leaned down, looked at me in the eye and said, “You have a great day today.”

I was floored. And I certainly never will forget it.

When you accidentally bump into someone, just apologise, when you’ve been bumped into, accept the person’s apology. You’re certain to meet people who will ignore your attempt at civility with dogged indifference, but never falter; you will meet someone who’ll give a damn. Maybe, as a society, we’re becoming so insensate that these things mean nothing even if we are on the receiving end of courtesy.

Sometimes I wonder if people still live in caves.

So easy?

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not perfect, and I certainly am not the paradigm of a moral hero. There are times when I forget to be gracious, but I think that at least I try and that I hope will make a lot of difference to somebody else.