A simple thank you for saying thank-you.
The intent this week is to revolutionize sports journalism (burp) by writing a football column that isn’t really about football.
Let’s flash back to June 10. Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations Chris Jones met with the media at 11 a.m., to discuss the CFL team’s final cuts.
Six minutes into the session, the alarm on my iPhone went off. I had set it for 11:06 a.m., before being made aware of the media session. Thank goodness I had fallen out of bed, on my own, at 10:30.
Anyway, after all the questions were asked and most of them were answered in detail, I waddled toward the elevator for the purpose of ascending to Mosaic Stadium’s main floor and expertly finding my way to my vehicle.
I just happened to be sharing the elevator with four Roughriders players, who were engrossed in conversation.
Once we reached the main level, I was the first out of the elevator. When I got to the door, I held it open for the four players. Only one of them acknowledged a basic courtesy with, well, a basic courtesy.
“Thank you, sir,” defensive back Ed Gainey said, pleasantly.
Once I got to the car, which I miraculously located without having to press the horn-honking button on my key fob, I added Gainey to the “nice people who deserve a plug” list.
His name subsequently appeared in my Robservations (Fobservations?) column, which is routinely enjoyed by some members of my immediate family.
I have found, over time, that responses such as Gainey’s are the exception. Simple politeness is not always reciprocal. Increasingly, it seems like “please” and “thank you” are disappearing from the vocabulary.
I am often reminded of the death of politeness while driving back to Leader-Post World Headquarters after a Roughriders or Regina Pats practice.
Dewdney Avenue has to be the jaywalking hub of the Queen City. It doesn’t seem to matter whether a pedestrian crossing is anywhere in sight. Seemingly on a whim, people will decide to cross the street, regardless of the degree to which traffic is flowing.
Generally, I stop as a courtesy. A few times, I stop out of necessity, the tires squealing to avoid hitting someone who has impulsively decided to take over the road. The bottom line, though, is that I stop.
Although I have not kept precise statistics on this, it is fair to estimate that perhaps one in four people actually nods or waves or does something (winks?) to acknowledge the fact that someone has stopped for them.
Why, oh why, is it so difficult for someone to show some appreciation?
It doesn’t take any extra time. Very little effort, if any, is required.
The same mindset seems to prevail at malls. The other day, near the George Bothwell Library at Southland Mall, I held open the door for five people. One of them smiled and responded with an effusive “thank you.” Three other people were stonefaced. Somebody else was looking at his phone.
Maybe I am getting old and stuffy, but the lack of basic manners is increasingly irksome.
Mind you, the exceptions are worth celebrating.
Consider my recent interview with Roughriders receiver Devon Bailey. I was told that he was an outstanding young man — a label that was confirmed when we chatted at Mosaic Stadium the other day.
Bailey invited me to sit in an adjacent dressing-room stall while I conducted the interview.
“Really?” I said. “I tried this once when covering an NHL game and the goon to whom the stall belonged got very angry and squirted water at me.”
No problem.
I sat down while interviewing a true stand-up guy.
Midway through the chat, the Roughriders’ Christion Jones returned to his stall — the one I was blocking.
Scarred by my past, I immediately got out of the way and apologized profusely.
Jones smiled and was great about the whole thing.
So there. Even in a column in which there is plenty of complaining, I am able to conclude by accentuating the positive.
In keeping with that mindset ... To Ed Gainey: Thank you, sir.