One of my pet peeves

     You know, I assume (and maybe that is presumptuous of me) that by the age of 30, most people have figured out how to be cordial to each other.  If you weren't raised by flippin' wolves you know that you should acknowledge and appreciate other human beings and what they do to make everyday life a little easier.  I don't care if these are people you work with, your family or your housemates.  If someone goes out of their way to do a little something to save your ass or make your life a little easier...say Thank You for goodness sake! 
     I learned at a young age to say Thank You, a lot.  I didn't grow up with much and when a friend's parents would invite me to dinner or pay for most of my trip to Disneyland after my father passed away, I was appreciative.  Very Appreciative.  Little things, big things...it doesn't matter.  When you look someone in the eye and tell them that you appreciate them and say Thank You, it makes all the difference in the world.  When I do things for other people and they thank me, I would do it again a hundred times over.  I don't mind doing things for people.  It's just the way I roll.  But if I feel that my gestures of goodwill are going unnoticed, I will stop helping that person out.
     Unfortunately, this seems to be something that is happening more and more.  I don't know if it is a generational thing or if people just don't give a crap anymore.  At work I have covered people's shifts and worked a 16 hour day because they got stuck in the snow.  I have cleaned the house over and over again only to be told by a roommate to put my dishes in the dishwasher because they couldn't be bothered to open the door to the dishwasher and put it in themselves (this was after I cooked dinner for the both of us) and I have put people up in my home when they have nowhere else to go.  All without a Thank You.  To be in fact, people that I have let stay with me until they got back on their feet stole from me!
     As I have gotten older, I have let most of this rude behavior go by the way side.  Mostly, because when I have tried to bring it to the other person's attention they have lashed out at me, moved out on me or just plain stopped talking to me.  So, I have become the master of avoidance.  With roommates, I spend as much time in my room or at work as possible and with friends and family, I just don't call back.  I find that it is easier that way.  Work is a bit more difficult.  Although, I usually set up a really good rapport with the managers when I first start working for a company in case there are future problems.  I find that if you ask for some individual time to talk with one of them and handle it in a professional manner, everything turns out fine.  (Although, I have known people that this hasn't worked for)  But since I have only heard one side of things and my responsibility was to console my friend, it's a toss up as to whether or not it was really handled as well as it could have been.
     Anyway, my point being, if people don't feel the need to be polite and courteous to each other maybe they should get off their lazy duffs and do things for themselves or at least learn to say Thank You for the things people do for them everyday.  I don't care if it's holding a door open for you at the post office.  Say Thank You!
     I leave you with this thought.  I had a roommate recently that told me that this world would be a better place if everyone did a little bit more than what they thought they should be responsible for.  For one glorious summer that we shared a place we raced to see who could get to the dishes first, we vacuumed, mopped and made dinner for each other when we thought the other had a long day.  And then we made sure we recognized the other for getting to it first.  Yes, it seemed kind of funny that everyday we were thanking each other for one thing or another.  But I can honestly say, it was the main reason I had the best summer of my life.