The way I see it, our ATTITUDES can HELP or HINDER us, in this critical journey of life.
Two incidents that happened only this week, triggered off this thought process.
Number one: It was on Wednesday and I had just parked my vehicle in the proximity of the Old Social Security Building. (The fact that I used to park there for years, I just figure, qualifies me for ‘parking for life’)
So, I had just parked my vehicle and I saw an impressive group of young people approaching, walking on the side walk.
They were nicely attired and were in animated conversation. That one quick glance satisfied my curiosity that they were some of the interns at the ongoing Summer Job attachment program, which is geared to assist school leavers in preparing in a real way, for the world of work.
As I was about to take my bag from the bus, I heard a literal EXPLOSION. One of the persons in that impressive group, shouted quite loudly: ‘Well go………………tell um then!’
The expletive rocked the Old Social Security Building and it certainly left me almost traumatized.
I would not have been surprised if immediately after, we would have had a tsunami alert.
Well I newa!
I looked around in amazement and saw the pretty ‘culprit.’ She was fair skinned with long, beautiful hair and a nice, innocent looking face and shockingly, it was someone I know very well.
As a matter of fact, I get along well with her parents and we sometimes refer to each other by a code name, by way of greeting.
She was obviously so surprised to see me and knowing that I would have seen another side of her, for the first time, she passed by without looking in my general direction.
A good friend of mine, soon passed by and asked: “Curtis you heard that just now?
I said ‘yes.’
She said: ‘It did not come from that nicely dressed group of young people right?
I said ‘sadly, yes.’
‘Curtis, you lie! Not them people there that looking to go work with people soon?’ She was amazed.
We were still there talking about the incident when the same group passed back. She had just told me that she heard the expletive, loud and clear, from all the way up by the old Credit Union building!
‘Which one of them?’ she whispered. I waited until they had passed by, without a salutation and directed her to the one.
‘That good looking one there?’ She was in even more in a state of shock.
Then came the clincher: ‘If knowing what I know now and she was to come to my establishment to look for a job, she would not be hired anytime soon. She could have a million subjects!’ She said it with such passion, I knew that she meant it.
She then chastised me and told me that since I knew the young lady and her parents so well, then I should have stopped her and let her know how disappointed I was in her behaviour.
The scary thing is. The girl did not say the swear word like a novice. This was not her first time.
She said it like she would have had months of serious practice!
Number two: It was the next day Thursday, when I was in conversation with some colleagues and one of them made mention of this incident.
She said that she was in Charlestown earlier in the week and one of the new Police recruits passed her by while she was assisting one of our venerable seniors, in crossing the road.
He passed by without saying a word and she called out to him and said; ‘Good afternoon, you did not realize that you just passed two people and did not say hello?’
Here comes the shocker: He responded: ‘You mean I must speak to everybody that I pass?’
Well I newa!
Now this guy may be new to the Police force but he is from a Caribbean island where the culture is pretty similar, where people speak to people, even if they don’t know them.
Additionally, his training should have guided him to the fact that for a Police officer to be successful in carrying out his duties, he must be friendly with the members of the community that he is serving.
Not OVER FRIENDLY, mark you, or he would soon start closing his eyes to obvious discrepancies, in terms of law and order.
However, Policing involves COMMUNITY and the community must be able to trust and respect those who uphold law and order.
It goes without saying, that with such an attitude, that the young cop won’t be gaining any promotions in the near future.
I want to submit that one’s attitude carries more weight than good looks; the number of degrees one has acquired; wealth or fame.
In the biblical account, when God sent the prophet to seek out the next King from Jesse’s sons, the prophet picked according to how they LOOKED, but God had chosen the Shepherd boy.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
So we can fool others with nice looking faces and pretentious smiles but one day, the real stuff will come out and we will be embarrassed.
That’s the way I see it. How do you see it?