40. Old Age Is No Excuse
I recently attended a San Francisco Youth Symphony concert, in which my younger son is an oboist. They were performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, some eighty minutes in length with no intermissions. There were four of us in attendance, two of us saving seats for the other two, all of us taking turns going to the bathroom... knowing the length of the concert. It was a sold out crowd and needless to say, there was much excitement and anticipation in the air.
While waiting for the other two, we were standing, people watching and enjoying light conversation. Imagine our complete surprise when an elderly couple decided to slide right in and take "our" two empty seats. This was no easy task as they had to squeeze past two other people and then the woman’s knee had to push me somewhat aside. I was startled momentarily, but immediately leaned over to say, "Excuse me, these seats are taken."
The woman said "They’re not here, so too bad." Then a very determined exchange, on both our parts ensued: "Excuse me, they are in the bathroom, this is a very long concert and I advise you to do the same." "They’re not here, too bad." "How Rude!, I’m sorry, you will have to leave." The woman’s husband decides to add his two cents, "Where are they, they’re NOT here."
At this point, my sister and eldest son are walking down the aisle and noticing that something is not right. I point to them and say "There They ARE, they’re RIGHT here!" The woman shakes her head and says "Too Bad, we’re old, we’re NOT moving!" Of course, this little exchange has attracted everyone’s attention by this time. Others around us are gasping in mutual surprise, shaking their heads in sympathy, and in general suffering from a lack of words, as I might have been were it not for the fact that I was the one standing right next to this couple. I threatened to get some assistance from the theater staff, and then followed through with my threat when the couple said, "Go ahead!"
While I was waiting for the usher to summon a qualified staff member, my family motioned to me that the couple was moving and to forget calling for help. WELL!!! I have NEVER experienced such blatant rudeness. Thank goodness it was a most heart lifting and spiritually touching concert, else I’m not sure I could have returned to my same lighthearted mood as expressed earlier.
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