Hi Everyone,
Most of my blogs come from conversations. Today’s blog is no exception. Here we go.
A bunch of us were sitting around and someone said something about lying on couches while in a public space. After they finished I mentioned that there were four seating arrangements in the Eaton’s Centre by the former Sear’s doors and one up the escalator close to the children’s section of Indigo books, by what I still call the, “pretty bathroom.”
Everyone who went to the Eaton’s Centre more than once remembered the large, wider than a twin mattress, brown leather bound, slabs of seating. They were wider than any other seating in the mall. Depending on the sizes of who wanted to sit, it could serve 6-8 people comfortably.
I loved those slabs of leather. For years they were there and then one day they weren’t. This is one of the reasons I think they were taken away.
For whatever reason people just started lying on them. I get it. They were wider than a single bed and very comfortable. But to see people laying on them while in a public space really pissed me off! If that wasn’t enough it got worse. This is what I mean.
When I worked at Sears, I had a little routine for my breaks. After I had a cigarette, I would take the escalator upstairs to the, “pretty bathroom,” and then take a few minutes to sit on the leather bound slab of seating. While there I would check my cell phone, have a granola bar and read or write for as long as time allowed. I did that for months. Until, of course, one day someone got a bright idea. This time it was a guy. So yes, men get bright ideas too. Theirs are just different.
The first time I saw someone lying on the seating, I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there looking at them. Who does that? He didn’t look like any of the homeless people I have seen over the years. If he wanted a nap, why didn’t he just go to the mattress department of Sears and pretend he was in the market for a mattress? That way, he could keep going back and keep trying mattresses out. I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was seeing. Wanting to relax my legs and enjoy the rest of my break, I sat at the very edge.
Sensing that someone else was present he gave me a “look”. It was one of sleepy cut-eye. I thought, “Are you kidding me? It is a public space! Find somewhere else to have a nap! Idiot!” Fearing my safety I didn’t say a word. I also left.
My thinking was if I said something and he figured out where I worked, there was a strong chance that he could “stop by” my counter give me a hard time and possibly complain about me. If the guy was mental enough to make himself at home and lay on the public seating and give me a “look” what was to stop him? He was the first of many people who did that. There were a few times I saw guys scratching themselves. It wasn’t always their chest if you know what I mean? One time I saw some guy’s junk falling out of his loose fitting trucks. Seeing that had me wishing there was a bleach I could wash my out with.
If I saw other people sitting while someone decided to have a nap I continued my routine. If I thought the person having a nap understood on some level that they were in public, because they didn’t take up the whole slab, I sat down. If someone was spread eagle, I didn’t stop. That didn’t stop me from thinking that they were idiots though.
Okay now seriously, who does that? Who has been taught to be allowed to just lay on public seating, in a shopping mall and go to sleep? What adult says to someone in their care, “If you are tired, just have a nap, right here on this seat, in public so everyone can see you? No really. It’s okay. If people want to sit down just ignore them. Your needs come before everyone else’s.” No parent that I know of! Unfortunately, all of the men I saw napping were adults! I just hope that they weren’t parents too!
For anyone who thinks that having a nap in a public space like a shopping mall is okay, I am here to tell you that a lot of people, including myself, don’t think it is. Really! I, like a lot of other people, don’t care that you are tired or how tired you are. On some level, we are all tired.
You want to have a nap, go home or visit a friend. Rent a hotel room if both of the above are too far. There is a hotel attached to the Eaton’s Centre for anyone who is interested. Can’t afford a hotel? Meander for a minute down a side street until you see city hall. It is so big it needs two buildings. Both are right beside each other. Someone in one of the two buildings will be able to help you.
I understand that a lot of people believe that the world is their playground. I have believed in that saying the second I heard it over 30 years ago. I get it. But what I don’t get, what I don’t fully understand, is how people just think that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. A public space is a just that-a public space! Today’s society is not the one I grew up in or raised my daughter in.
Society, the one I remember, had lines, boundaries, unspoken rules that people followed. Things like, “Seating arrangements in public spaces are for seating; not sleeping,” and things like that. Simple rules that everyone for generations followed without complaint. Interestingly, the same rules that were followed without complaint are now being broken and people are now complaining. Is that why the seating was taken away? Possibly.
The next time you or someone you know feels tired and wants to have a nap, think of where you are. If your memory fails you, look around! If there are people walking around with shopping bags, if deliveries are being made, if people walking in and out of stores that’s your head’s up that laying on a seat meant for sitting is not meant for sleeping or lying on! If you or someone you know is somewhere else and you don’t think it would be a good idea to just lie down because you’ll look like an idiot, don’t do it!
I’m not the only one you’ll piss off. And yes, I was pissed off that my routine was interrupted. But I am still pissed off that people of all walks of life now have no where to sit while they shop or get out of the cold.
The world is our playground. Unfortunately some people don’t know when to leave!
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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