Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.
- Dec 8, 2018

Grin And Bear It

I have lived a lot of places in my life, but nowhere else have I encountered people who think it is funny to publicly address or to refer to an obviously elderly woman as “young lady”, as they do in Illinois. Illinoisans think that is hilarious. Full of false enthusiasm to cover up the insult they have in mind, some man who is old himself, or a snooty young woman, or an insulting young man, will set me back on my heels with that nasty little interaction. At the auto dealership, they might bellow out, “How are you today, ‘young lady’!”, in a grocery store, “Show this ‘young lady’ where it is.”, in a government office, “And how can I help you today, ‘young lady’ (smirk, smirk, smirk)?” And, they gleefully enjoy watching me ignoring their mockery.

Morons. Strangers in Illinois started this nasty little interaction with me about five years ago, I wonder if they will ever let up.

So I grin and bear it, meaning that I show my teeth in a grimace of emotional pain and barely contained anger which they may mistake for a smile, or not.