Meals to heels

On occasional Fridays, I run a Meals on Wheels route for my work. There's about 15 of us that have volunteered for this, and each Friday two of us run the route.

The last stop on our route is an apartment building at an assisted living type facility. We have about five drop offs in this building. There is one lady that has specified on our instruction sheet that we are to "leave meal in box if no answer at the door". Insinuating - no, expressly stating, I think - that we are to knock on the door first. But the first time I knocked on her door, she opened it and saw it was her meal delivery, and hissed at me, "that's what the box is for!"

Yeesh. Okay, lesson learned.

So, I ran the route this Friday, and as I was approaching this woman's door, I see that it is standing wide open. As I get closer, I notice that the woman is standing there. Waiting for me. With an expression on her face that I can't quite describe. Impatience, perhaps. And irritability. And possibly some disgust mixed in there as well.

As I hand her the bag with a smile on my face, she snaps, "I need to take a look at that food. I've been getting the wrong stuff."

Obligingly, I say, "oh, of course," and start pulling the meal out of the bag. She grabs it and screeches accusatorially, "See!! That, right there!!! I'm supposed to get the soft stuff!! What IS that?!"

Now, firstly, let me explain that I have zero earthly clue what this food is that we're delivering to these people. It usually looks something like compost and smells eerily like wet dog. So I couldn't come close to answering her question. But secondly, part of our job is to first separate the meal into types depending on the various dietary requirements of the recipient. For example, we have some "regular" meals, some "low-fat", some "diabetic", etc. And this particular stop is the only one on our route whose meal is designated as "mech-soft". And there's a big sticker on the hot meal and a handwritten note on the other bag of food, both indicating "mech-soft". In other words, I've at the very least done my part by confirming that the food I give her has the right label on it. I didn't make the food, for pete's sake. And I have no idea if it meets the definition of appropriately mechanically soft food.

So, I show her the "mech-soft" label plastered all over her food, and tell her I'll be sure to let the office know that she's been having trouble with her food so they can fix the problem. She snaps, "well, I guess I'll take it. But I'm not going to keep taking these meals if you don't bring me the right stuff. Hmmph.". And with that, she snatched the food from my hand and slammed the door.

For the most part, the recipients of the food are appreciative and grateful. Several are a little snotty. And this woman is just a downright crab.

I suppose that at this point in their lives, these people are entitled to a little grumpiness. But I do find it ironic that I spend so much time teaching my kids manners, and if they ever acted the way this woman does, I would be appalled, would make them apologize, and would remind them that no matter what, they should always be grateful for what they have.

Especially for those things that are hand delivered to their door by a volunteer.