I remember reading about a guy who stopped in the grocery store on the way home from
work to pick up a couple of items for his wife. He wandered around aimlessly for a while
searching out the needed groceries. As is often the case in the grocery store, he kept
passing this same shopper in almost every aisle. It was another father trying to shop with
a totally uncooperative three year old boy in the cart.
The first time they passed, the three year old was asking over and over for a candy bar.
Our observer couldn’t hear the entire conversation. He just heard Dad say, “Now, Billy,
this won’t take long.” As they passed in the next aisle, the three year old’s pleas had
increased several octaves. Now Dad was quietly saying, “Billy, just calm down. We will
be done in a minute.”
When they passed near the dairy case, the kid was screaming uncontrollably. Dad was still
keeping his cool. In a very low voice he was saying, “Billy, settle down. We are almost
out of here.” The Dad and his son reached the check out counter just ahead of our
observer. He still gave no evidence of loosing control. The boy was screaming and
kicking. Dad was very calming saying over and over, “Billy, we will be in the car in just a
minute and then everything will be
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