Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Shoulder Checking, You Are Learning Here, My Friends!

Today I experienced a few different situations in which people COULD HAVE shoulder checked and, for that brief moment, COULD HAVE shown some thought for someone other than themselves. This is, however, a very selfish time we live in. Everyone is looking after number 1. and they think that is okay.

Well, it's not.

So, here we go:

• When participating in the rat race that is riding the train in rush hour, it would be incredibly considerate to glance behind you before you sling your purse over your should in the very packed train and try to take me out! Or you could have glanced back afterward, while uttering the standard quick, automatic, "sorry". I would have accepted that. I got neither.

• When hurrying from that train over to the parking lot, it would be really cool if you were to do a quick shoulder check before you cut over to make that quick turn, or to get into the right-hand rush of bodies. That quick look would have allowed you to see me already occupying that space.

• When you reach the doors of the above mentioned train station, perhaps you would be considerate enough to look back to see if someone is exiting directly behind you so you could hold the door. It is a gesture which takes approximately 1/4 of a second, but I understand that you are too busy for that. Next time, just turn and look, and you will see the ghost of a smile on that person's lips and a "thank you" ready on their tongue, just for you. My rule of thumb is, if there is someone less than five paces behind me, I stand for those two seconds and hold the door. It is amazing how the smile you receive from that person can lift your spirits.

• When you are walking down the sidewalk, passing by the train station, where traffic is backed up with cars needing to get out, take a quick peek behind you at the cars coming down the street. Their is a good chance, as it is murphy's law after all, that their only break in traffic for the last five minutes, will be at the precise moment that you are sauntering past. The drivers in these moments really appreciate your kindness when you notice this, and either hurry past, or stop and wave them on. I have been known to do this, and again, it is uplifting to do something unselfish for someone else. And really, that's a pretty small thing.

• Lastly, when you are looking to change lanes in traffic, pay attention to how quickly the car is coming in the lane you want to get into. If they are traveling faster than you, just let them past before you get into that lane. That is hugely annoying to someone who, while probably driving faster than the legal limit, is held back by someone who just simply isn't paying attention.

And that, my friends, is your lesson in shoulder checking. Not so hard, eh?

(I added that last bit for my American friends, who found, to their disappointment, that I didn't sound Canadian. lol)