(I work at the checkout at a grocery store that, on Thursdays, offers a 5% discount to seniors. Naturally, we get a lot of seniors on Thursdays. Near the end of my shift, an elderly gentleman comes to my lane.)

Me: “Hello, do you have a [Store Card] today?”

Customer: ‘Yes, it’s [telephone number].’

Me: ‘Okay. Did you find everything okay today?”

Customer: “Yes, I did.”

Me: :Great. Are you having a good day so far?”

Customer: “Well, you know how people say T-G-I-F?”

Me: “Yeah…”

Customer: “Well I say, S-H-I-T. So Happy It’s Thursday.”

(I could only fake laugh and quickly get him out of there, making sure I give him his senior discount.)

(We are changing the layout of our store.)

Old Woman: *sweetly* “Excuse me, dear. Do you know where the paper towels are? These changes are really confusing.”

Me: “I fully understand. Aisle eight, two down from here.”

Old Woman: “Thanks.”

(A few minutes later, I see her wandering around, looking ticked off. Suddenly…)

Old Woman: *tilts head back, screaming to the ceiling* “WHERE IN H***’D THEY HIDE THE TATER CHIPS?!”

(I backed into an aisle and couldn’t breathe for several minutes, I was laughing so hard.)

(I’m about to leave the office building where my company is located to go get lunch. We’re an online marketing and web design company, so we can wear pretty much whatever we want. If I’m not meeting with potential clients, I usually wear skinny jeans and band t-shirts, with big hoodies. It’s pouring when I step outside to go get lunch, but before I can open my umbrella, a well-dressed, little old lady tries to JERK my umbrella out of my hand!)

Lady: “You kids should respect your elders more! You don’t need that umbrella, and if you don’t give it to me right this second, I’ll report you for being truant from school!”

(I’m 26, but look much younger, but this is the first time someone has threatened to report me for truancy.)

Me: *politely but firmly* “Ma’am, this is my umbrella, and I do need it. You can also report me, but I’m a computer science major at [College], not a high-schooler, so it won’t get you anywhere.”

Lady: *stuttering* “Well, you’re still a student, young lady, so I demand you give me your umbrella!”

Me: “Fine, that’ll cost you $1,500.”

Lady: “What?! Why should I pay you that much for a stupid f****** umbrella?!”

Me: “Because that’s how much it’s going to cost to replace my [expensive laptop that I bought for school and work that I’m currently carrying in my bag] if I give you my umbrella, and I have class tonight. I’ll take cash, thanks.”

(The lady gave me a dirty look and went back inside the building, cussing me out as she did. I was taught to respect my elders, as most Texans are, but I was also taught that I’m worth just as much respect!)

My great aunt is 98 years old and has Alzheimer’s. Other than that and some eye trouble, she is very fit, and often gets in trouble at her nursing home for zooming with her walker up and down the hallways.

Unfortunately, her memory is completely shot, and she doesn’t recognize any of her family, and often refers to friends that passed long, long ago. Regardless, my mother makes it a point to go out of state to see her at least once a year. She has spent the last week there, and has just gotten back home. I ask how it went.

My mother tells me that she and my great aunt sat and talked for a while, and then my mother reminded her that it was dinner time and offered to walk her down to the cafeteria. My great aunt happily agreed — it was a good day, though on bad days she can be a bit… grouchy — and they went down. Once seated they talked for a little while longer.

My great aunt had no idea who she was or where, and seeing how out of touch with reality she was, my mother was a bit bleary eyed and emotionally drained, and decided it was time to head out. She told her aunt how great it was to see her, but that she really must be going. My great aunt was disappointed, but understood. Just as my mom stood up, my great aunt popped up and wished her a warm goodbye:

“It was so nice to see you. We should do this again soon, [Name that my mother doesn’t recognize]. Be safe. Keep your bra clean.”

This made my mom smile, and when she left, she felt a bit better. My mother tells me that if this is her last memory of her aunt, then she is okay with that.

(A mother with a pram comes to my till. Her son is obviously displeased with something and cries loudly, so that everybody hears it. She leaves the pram behind her to make her purchase. I am encouraged to chat with customers while ringing up.)

Me: “Someone seems displeased with life here. Hey there, big guy. What’s up?”

Child: *continues crying*

Mother: “Well, you know kids; sometimes they simply aren’t happy. He’ll be all right.”

(She continues to talk to her child, trying to soothe him, but it doesn’t work.)

Me: “Okay, that will be [amount], please.”

(While the mother is looking for money in her purse, an elderly gentleman and his wife come behind her in line. The man looks at the crying child for a couple of seconds and then suddenly speaks.)

Elderly Man: “Whoa, no need to be so unhappy, buddy! Look at this t-shirt! Don’t you think it’s a great t-shirt? Or these pants; look how fine they are! Don’t you think?”

(He continues babbling like this, but the child is so surprised that he stops crying and just looks at the smiling man. His mother finishes her purchase and takes him away, which results in more cries. The elderly pair comes up to me.)

Elderly Man: “Oh, dear, he’s clearly unhappy. Listen how he cries.”

Elderly Man’s Wife: “Oh, come on, [Husband], he’s little. Children sometimes cry like that.”

Me: “This is true. And even adults are unhappy now and then and behave similarly. We’ve all been there.”

(I ring them up, and they turn around to leave the store. Suddenly, the mother of the crying child returns with him in her arms, and holding a pack of simple balloons.)

Mother: “He would like these, please.”

Me: “Great, big guy! Now you have something from the shop, too!”

(The boy grinned from ear to ear, incredibly happy with his balloons. Nearby, the elderly pair were standing and looking at him, and when the mother carried him back out, they waved goodbye. Normally people would complain and b**** about a crying child, but these two seniors were simply awesome!)