I still remember it well. A number of years I was at the self-checkout isle in Walmart. I scanned the few things I purchased and then took out my debit card to pay for them. When I slid the card through the reader it gave me an error message. I forget exactly what it said, maybe it just said declined. I had more than enough money in my account to cover the purchase so I asked the young lady who was watching all the self-checkout registers if she could please help me. She strutted over and I explained my problem. She then requested the card and tried it herself with the same results. She then raised the card up high in the air and called in a loud voice to her supervisor some twenty feet away. What she said sent cringes down my spine. She yelled "I have a bad card at register 6". Of course, all the other people checking out looked at me like I was a dead beat either out of money or using a bad credit card. The supervisor professionally walked over and took the card. She then rubbed it on her blouse and then put it in a plastic bag and then ran it through the credit card reader. Viola, it worked just fine. I thanked her for helping me then said, "I wish she hadn't yelled that I had a bad card." The supervisor looked at me as if that was my problem not hers and then said, "Thank you for shopping Walmart." I still feel the humiliation of everyone staring at me as if I was a deadbeat or criminal. It was a good lesson for me on how not to intentionally or unintentionally embarrass people. That momentary act can leave a scar that lasts for a lifetime.
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The Lessons Life Teaches, A Collection of Short Stories.
Short StoryThis is a collection of short stories about some of the lessons that life has taught me. Written and compiled by Dan Turner. Like my life, it is a work in progress.
