Oak, I'm going to check back here in 32 years and ask you how it's going.......yes, I find that elderly ladies move in close. I think their perception is off a bit perhaps due to age....I think they don't want to get overlooked...I think they are focused on getting in the store (or bank!!) getting to the cashier, paying and getting out. As people age they become more concerned with getting where they need to go in one piece and getting home with what they came out with---less concerned with what other people are doing. I see it all the time at the bank where I work. I had an elderly man who always came and stood at my work station right up next to whoever was already there. He was unaware of any imposition, was just wanting to make sure he could talk to me and tell me his stories of the wars and his short stint with Black Sheep Squadron, his medals and his vineyards. That retired colonel died this summer and I heard there were hundreds at the funeral. He was pretty frustrating sometimes when you couldn't get him to leave, and yet his stories were very interesting.

Red

We'll all be old one day!

My mom is 77, and she does not do this (though she does pay by check, LOL!). She is a different sort of older person, though . . .she always has seemed much younger, maybe because she had us when she was in her 40s? She protests the war with her peace & justice group every week, takes Japanese classes, got an initiative passed to make Chicago a multilingual city a few years ago . . .basically, if I get old and am like her, I will be happy! (Can you tell I love my mom!)

I found myself depositing money in a bank that wasn't mine this past week. (College kid alert). By the time I filled out the information for the deposit, I was 4th in line. I took my turn and waited in bank silence. Just when I made it to second in line, I watched a white headed, full haired man in shorts, tennis socks in tennis shoes and sunglasses; with cane in hand, walk right past our line and into front position.

I fell in love. I had to comment to the person (in running gear) ahead of me. "I hope I am as cute as he is when I am his age..."

My comment seemed to wake her up from her slumber and she admitted she hadn't noticed. "Yes, he is cute," after she took notice. Immediately after I drew her attention to him, we both heard him speaking to a bank officer. He was telling her that he was 97 years old. We both gasped. We thought he was in his late 70s.

We listened further and overheard him telling the bank tellers that he was a World War I vet and had recently been invited to a ceremony in Washington DC. Suddenly we realized he went right ahead of us, to the front of the line, but hey. By this time we were saying, go ahead and cheat. At 97, we'll make every allowance for him, we laughed.

We totally bonded over this rare experience. We excused him for cutting in the line, but the joke was on us, as explained a few minutes later, by a bank officer. "The line is over here. We need to make it more clear."

He hadn't cut in line. Fact is, he knew where the real line was. We were confused and waiting in the wrong line, thinking we were just being polite and respectful. Duh!

We laughed at ourselves until we were almost in tears. We thought we were giving him something. Heck, he was just teaching us where the line started. We will never forget him.

golddust, just hilarious. Great story!

Two senior but not that old people did the same thing to me yesterday in Best Buy. I was not amused.

What a cute story, golddust!

If we all lived our lives remembering that "that could be me someday", the world would be a better place right now.

Oh please. These ladies weren't hunched over, barely walking etc. They're just OLDER.

I don't mind standing behind an elderly person paying for their stuff. I get it. But I do mind when they stand right next to me when it looks like nothing is wrong with them and they dress to the nines.

It's just a pet peeve of mine, why do people flip out over other's pet peeve's?

Oakley - you're the one calling them little old ladies. Read your original post.

I hate to say it, but to some teens and 20 somethings we're "old ladies".

Yes I did. So what? It's not a derogatory term. I hope to be a little old lady myself some day!

What gets me is how some of you take these pet peeves so darn serious. It's as if you need to lecture someone for some reason.

I don't think anyone is flipping out/upset about your pet peeve. Tone is hard on the 'puter to convey.

Oakley, I took no offense by it either.

My mom is 85 and my dad is 88 and my MIL will be 99 in a few months. When I see people in line that are that age I always think. How would I want them to be treated? Hopefully with the respect they deserve.

I just have to jump in and come to Oakley's defense here. I can really see where she might feel like she's being jumped on. She's talking about a pet peeve - something that bugs her. Not a big deal, but hey, we ALL have stuff that bugs us, most of which is probably not a big deal, right?

The thing is that some of these posts seem to sort of imply that she treated someone badly or with disrespect. All she said was that it bothered her. I didn't read anywhere that she said anything or was rude or disrespectful in any way to these people. Just that she was peeved.

And (Sorry!) here's the part that bugs me the most: when people say that someone for some special reason (age in this case) deserves respect. IMHO, ALL others deserve respect unless it's a situation where they have done something to affect that. So to say that age deserves respect sounds to me like you're saying it's ok to disrespect someone who's younger or your own age. It's not.

Yes, I hope that when God willing I make it to a ripe old age, I will be treated with respect. In the meantime, I expect that same respect now, and all ages in between.

And I will also continue to be peeved by things that are out of my control, even though they are minor in the grand scheme of things, but will seldom, if ever, act upon them, and certainly not (I hope!) if it will cause me to be disrespectful to someone else, regardless of age or any other factor.

Obnoxious people have no age limits, that is for sure!

lowspark, well said and I agree with you.

Thanks lowspark! I never said I was rude to these people, only that it was a big pet peeve of mine.

Okay, here's another pet peeve. People who can't see humor in pet peeves. :)

I think pet peeves are a more amusing when there isnt a stream of them. Sure, we all have pet peeves (and I admit that some of mine are pretty ridiculous) but after two threads with a long series of "I hate"s, I think the negativity was getting a little too heavy.. at least for me, it was. I have pet peeves and strong opinions--but after reading 80+ posts with list after list of complaints, I was not going to add to it. I think we'd all end up sounding like a bunch of miserable old grumps. Sorry, I know we are NOT all miserable grumps but that's how it starts looking .. this was the third in a series of similar posts. I think it may just have been a bit of overkill.

That said.. I sure hope that when *I* am over 70 that the people around me understand that I am more cautious, slower and less steady on my feet, and that my vision/depth perception arent all that great either. I hope they cheer me on for doing my own shopping and being a strong, independent woman-- even if a bit miserable and grumpy ;)

Speaking of little old ladies getting too close for comfort, when I was 18, going into the city to take some classes, this little 'old woman' grabbed me and used me as a bullet shield in the subway during a shooting. No kidding. I was too young to be peeved or anything, but it sure was shocking behavior! Amazes me to this day.

Funkyart, I do understand what you're saying, I just never understood how in the first topic it became an "I hate" thread, when that wasn't the intention.

These threads are supposed to be funny. What ruins them are people who feel the need to lecture us on our on opinion, no matter how unpopular they are.

Haven't you all sat around with your girlfriends and talked about pet peeves and laughing your a** off at them?

And I don't think when we say "I hate it when..." means we actually hate someone, nor the action, we just means we dislike it.

... no matter how unpopular they are.

Ah, but that's the nature of the beast when it comes to an open forum like this. If you put it out there, you can expect all sorts of responses. ;-)

I'm sorry you feel you were lectured Oakley. Wasn't my intent but I will admit it yanked my chain when you went on about the *little old ladies*. You did say you asked one to move and then mentioned something about nothing being wrong with them and they were dressed to the nines??? You may not have meant it in a negative manner, but it came across that way to me. Plus you brought it up a second time. I thought of it more of a thread for venting, not particularly meant to be funny. Of course we all have pet peeves, things that bother us. Anyone who knows me knows I am someone who looks on the bright side of things, so I suppose that's why the *things you love* thread appeals to me more than *pet peeves* or *things you hate*.

Like Aunt Jen said, you will get all kinds of responses. Everyone is never going to agree. Some of us apparently interpreted the thread differently than you intended. But, that's the internet for you, as someone mentioned, the tone doesn't always come across.

tina

The thing I don't like about the peeves topics or other similar types of threads, is that we are inevitably complaining about each other when we do that, so that feelings will get hurt. Personal or not, I know when I read them, it's a bit disheartening to hear how annoying, misunderstood, or whatever, I am, just for being myself on any given day : / Usually when people are peeving, venting, or stating their opinions, they're with people they know well, so know what the boundaries would be as to not be hurting one of the others. Assuming they would care, of course.

We all have things that bug us about the world, some days worse than others, but I still can't believe some of the stuff when I read it. Or the interpretations or assumptions that are put on some things. I find it very discouraging to read about just how much people bug each other, and often over such small or inconsequential things. Makes me feel like I should just roll over and die. Even my smiley face has been put under attack a couple times, fgs.

(And no, I usually don't read those threads or posts anymore, though I sometimes peek to see what's going on.)

Be careful, Oakley! I'll bet this "chronologically gifted" woman was part of that new group of scam artists trying to sneak a peek at your checking info! (Just joking!)

But that is a pet peeve that sometimes gets to me, too.

I don't know what, if anything, I'd end up saying if someone who had no concept of personal space came up close to me and either reeked of smelly perfume or cologne or their "natural" or highly-perspirated scent! It's hard to be polite saying something like "You're perfume is making me feel a bit nauseated. Will you take a few steps back?"
(i think another poster has issues with heavy perfumes and such; maybe she has a solution!)

I wasn't going to post on this again, but liked what tinam and squirrel both just had to say.

I really didn't see anyone coming down on anyone but do sometimes wonder why we need to continue venting about stuff that really has no explanation. And if I seemed like I was a little annoyed in my first response, well..........I was. A couple of people who work very near to me for the last several years continually make comments negatively about older people. And while some of my most frustrating clients are elderly..........and obnoxious behavior can be exhibited by young OR old.......It is an ongoing peeve of mine that so many are so unsympathetic or immune, to the problems of the elderly. After 8 hours a day, 5 days a week of listening to my 20-something companions make their disparaging remarks, I find myself not in the mood to hear much more. So, your comments may have just fallen on ears that were already done with hearing it. I didn't mean to come off frustrated by You.

Red

I find if I start getting cranky with the elderly, it's during a time of fear for my own mortality and/or the uncertainty of what aging has in store for me.

Behind most anger, of any kind, is usually fear of some sort.

I think the thing that bothered me most from the other thread was the story about somebody's brother mouthing off to some woman who was "in his way" in a store aisle. I could just envision that happening - in fact, I'm only too well acquainted with certain people (in my past, actually) who have confronted strangers who made an innocent mistake, such as standing in the way or making a non-malicious, unintentional error while driving. I know the anger that's inside of a person that causes them to "go off" on somebody else like that, and it ain't pretty. I think that's what stirred me up in the pet peeve thread. Sometimes things just hit a little close to home, and we find ourselves responding accordingly. :-/

This just came via my e-mail and too appropriate not
to share: ( it's a 2 hankie)

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little
old lady following him around.

If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him.

She finally overtook him at the
checkout, and she turned to him and said,

'I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just
that you look so much like my late son.'

He answered, 'That's okay.'

'I know it's silly, but if you'd call out 'Good bye, Mom' as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy.'

She then went
through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of
the store, The man called out, 'Goodbye, Mom.'

The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him.

Pleased that he had brought a
little sunshine into someone's day, he
went to pay for his Groceries.

'That comes to $121.85,' said the clerk.

'How come so much? I only bought 5 items..'

The clerk replied,
'Yeah, but your Mother said You'd be paying for her things, too.'

Don't trust little Old Ladies

Bahahahaha!!

lllol. I was so enjoying that sweet story, which can be very true, until .... Funny, Leah.

Until it turned into a really funny joke, it was reminding me of when my DS was in Iraq for a year and a half. It seemed like wherever is was, there would be some young man that looked just like him. So many short haircuts now.

I always wanted to run up to them and give them a hug.

parma...I know exactly what you mean. When my son moved away I kept seeing him in so many young men with short dark hair :>(