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Just Sayin / Minneapolis-St. Paul / overheard / Thomson Reuters

Ritual Politeness

Man in office by Bethany Legg via Unsplash

I am at the office’s coffee/hot water machine. It’s a Tazo tea day. A curly-haired woman approaches from the side and we both do a start-stop motion towards the machine.

Me: “Oh, sorry. Go ahead.”
Curls: “Oh no, you go.”
Me: “It’s fine.”
Curls: “You were here first.”
Me: “Well thank you.”
Curls: “You’re very welcome.”

I then fill my Starbucks cup with water. It feels like an eternity because I can sense Curls staring at my cup. I finish:

Me: “Thank you again. Have a good weekend”
Curls: “You’re welcome. you have a nice weekend too!”

I think a foreigner, maybe even a New Yorker, would find this exchange ridiculous. But I’ve stopped questioning Midwest etiquette. Just follow the script and no one gets offended.

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