Mike Dougherty's Blog

Orator without a soapbox

I was talking on a Bluetooth phone device as I walked from my car to a Little Rock grocery store at lunchtime Thursday.

A man who was quite upset was ranting just outside the entrance. As I moved closer to the door, I said to my friend, “Something’s going on.” But I decided the man was talking loudly to no one in particular. Because he was so loud, I was concentrating on what my friend had to say, rather than the diatribe of the man without a soapbox.

My friend asked me as I passed the guy, “Do you need to get off the phone? Are you in danger?”

I laughed and said, “No, I don’t think so.” I stopped inside the store to try to listen to what he had to say. All I caught was: ” … and as soon as I finish my cigarette, I’m going in there and let ’em know about it, too!”

I laughed out loud as I realized that he was mad about something that someone inside the store, but he wasn’t going to break the law against smoking inside the building to go in and resolve it.

By the time I waited in line, bought my chicken box lunch at the deli counter and went back outside, the Great Orator had left the premises.

Some store employees were taking a smoke break where he had been standing. They were trying to decide if the man was drunk or crazy.

But they may have been jumping to conclusions. He simply may have been upset. After he had finished his cigarette, he may have felt better and gone home. Sometimes, it helps just to get it off your chest.