Please stop whining at the grocery store

A couple of weeks ago I was standing in line at the grocery store.

I was second in line in lane one with a single item to purchase. There was an elderly couple ahead of me with a grocery cart full of items.

Normally lane one is the express lane but in the late night hours it is a regular lane free for anyone with an unlimited number of items. As it gets late there are fewer customers and thus fewer cashiers. Makes sense to me.

I could care less waiting behind the couple with several groceries; it was the only lane open. They got there first, very fair. Although they had a full cart of groceries, it was only going to take the cashier about five minutes to get them through. Who cares about five minutes? I don't.

Everything was going well until two people got in line behind me.

The two people behind were complaining very loudly about the people ahead of us with the large number of items. They were calling the elderly couple names loudly enough, hoping they would hear their insults.

What was that going to prove? That you are willing to bark far away - far enough to run the other direction or act like it wasn't you who said it?

I consider this something said by someone lacking a spine and common courtesy.

My eyes began to bulge out of my head as I imagined myself comically ripping their spines out of their bodies and beating them with said skeletal parts. I turned around to tell them to clamp it but was immediately caught off guard.

I was surprised because these two guys were grown men, probably 20 years older than me. I was shocked to think two mature adults were so rude about the elderly couple ahead of us.

As I parted my lips the words didn't come because one of the guys looked at me as though I agreed with him, and gave me a sympathetic look.

He went onto ask, "Can you believe this?"

I said nothing. I was initially bent on chewing out these two people but was blindsided by their age. I thought they would be young 20-somethings or teenagers.

I just shook my head in disbelief of their comments and turned around.

I hope the couple ahead of me in line did not hear the insults. It was rude and unnecessary.

Standing behind someone in line is not a big deal and doesn't take as long as we imagine.

It is more upsetting to be the person listening to the snide comments. It happens nearly every time I go to a store. The only person creating the problem is the person whining. Please shut up. Millions will appreciate it and I won't have to call you out.

It is incredibly stupid and wimpy to shout insults from a distance. I bet people wouldn't complain out loud if they were standing right next to them in line.

If I had asked the couple ahead of me if I could have gone first, I'm sure they would have let me.

If you don't politely ask to go ahead of someone in line, then stop complaining, because you are not finding a solution.

It isn't the responsibility of the person ahead of you to let you go ahead. They don't have to monitor the people behind them.

For the record to the two men who were standing behind me, no, I did not agree with you.

Candice Boutilier is the Columbia Basin Herald city reporter. It's hard to argue with her opinion in this column. Her co-workers all agree.