Have a nice day! Yeah, in all modesty, I weaponized that.
So back in the day during the absurdity that was covid, my daughter, Willow, flipped out after being told to put her mask up over her nose in a store. Her reaction to that command was not pretty. Later that night she was shocked and chagrined when her sister, Treesje told her that she was now Mom! What? Wait a second. Who me, a sweet tempered, mild mannered, paragon of virtue?
Apparently the story about Mom going ballistic on a homeless man in the long ago has become the stuff of legends. Until a video to the contrary surfaces, take my word for it that Mommy Dearest was merely a victim here, like everyone else nowadays. I was just ahead of the curve.
So here's the background, we had spent a week delivering telephone books to homes in LaJolla/San Diego. It was summertime warm, Wayne was just a baby, and the older two kids had other jobs or plans, but every day five of the middles and Wayne and I got in the van and spent the days driving from house to house. Jared had his arm in a cast or sling, but it was as if he and Willow were in a sports competition so they would run down the road delivering these heavy phone books, and the other kids tried their best to keep up. It was far from a walk in the park. After a week, I figured we had finally earned enough funds to spend a day at the Zoo.
And so we spent a day at the Zoo! It was all fun and games. Until the end of the day. As we exited the gate and headed for the parking lot, I saw a man begging for money. It was an era when you couldn't come out of the grocery store or anywhere else without being confronted by this ubiquitous army with donation jars, usually these men and women dressed in white uniforms, white shoes, white hats. (But the plot thickens, there had been an exposé where one of the leaders of the group had bought a small yacht, so all may not have been as it seems. Who knows?) Regardless, it was something you couldn't escape.
Anyway, we had spent every penny we had previously earned in delivery mode, and so I felt both guilty and resentful to have to face this man with my pockets empty. So I was immediately inspired to give to him what I was always given after donating to the hands out brigade. Awesome! As I smiled brightly at him, I cheerfully said, "Have a nice day!" He immediately realized that meant no money, and retaliated, "No, you have a nice day!" It felt like a slap in the face, so I stopped and again insisted, "You have a nice day!" You didn't think he'd take that sitting down, did you? So you can probably guess where that went for a few minutes. My kids quickly snuck off trying to avoid the embarrassing shouting match. Oh well!
And here we are, just a few decades later, with people ending hostile social media arguments with "Have a nice day" without even giving me the credit I so deserve. You're welcome, guys, you have a nice day!
