Did You Say You Wanted A Beer?

The other day I placed an order at Starbucks. After I finished, the clerk grabbed a empty cup from the tall stack and paused for a beat. She then looked up at me and asked, “Did you say you wanted a beer?”

She didn’t whisper when she asked me to clarify, in fact she was rather loud.

I was taken aback. Not only had I not asked for anything remotely close to a beer, I hadn’t even utter a word since placing my order.

I immediately informed the boisterous clerk that I had not ordered a beer.

She burst into laughter attracting the attention of everyone in the store. A nearby clerk, who overheard her loud exclamation of “you wanted a beer,” made some obvious remark as he was re-stocking the lids.

I said nary a word as I thrust my gift cars (both of which added up to $2.38) into her chubby hands. She was going on and on, questioning whether or not Starbucks had started to sell beer.

I’m old and I didn’t appreciate her causing a scene. I can understand if I had said, “may I have a queer” or “can I get a pap smear, “or dear, ear, fear, lear” but I didn’t say anything remotely close to “give me a beer.”

In fact I didn’t say anything!

Her immaturity and youthfulness caused her to blurt out a rather embarrassing remark. Someone with more wisdom and experience would have treated my request (which I never made) with more sensitivity.

Worst of all, during this particular visit and on this particular day, I look exactly like someone stupid enough to order a beer at Starbucks and someone in desperate need of one.