Situational Awareness

We learn about “situational awareness” starting in elementary school. We are taught not to block the aisles, how to proceed in an orderly fashion, such as in a fire drill, or how to patiently wait our turn in the lunch line. So why is it, when people are no longer in school, they go completely brain dead when in positions where situational awareness would greatly help out?

We had a funeral luncheon, where the number of people who showed up, exceeded the number we were given. There were two rectangular tables against a wall, not being used for anything, when I noticed a group of people start moving them around. I asked what they needed…they said there weren’t enough seats, so I told them we would take care of it. So, I moved the tables into a usable position, told someone else to bring in 18 more chairs, and proceeded to set the tables with napkins and silverware.

This would have gone a lot smoother if the people we were setting the tables for, didn’t insist on standing in our way. They hovered about these tables like they were the last two tables on earth. We cannot put out the chairs, if you insist on standing exactly where the chairs need to go. Something’s gotta give, either you move out of the way for a few minutes, and let us do our job, or you go without a chair.

Even a moderately observant person can see that, while setting down silverware, that I started at one end of the table, and am working my way down to the other end. When I say “Excuse me,” because I need to reach around you, and you move six inches to the left (which is the direction I am going) I shouldn’t have to say it for every knife I need to set down.

Don’t make me go all “school principal” on you and tell you to stand against the wall until we’re finished. This is shit you should already know!