by Cathy
Have you ever known anyone who is continually cool, calm and collected? Someone who remains unnaturally calm in the face of chaos, someone who exudes confidence that no matter what, everything will be okay?
I know a couple of people like that and it always baffles me that they never let their emotions get carried away with them. For us, on the other hand, this family of Greek and Latin hot blood,
yelling is our way of talking, so it's to be expected to hear cranked up shrilled voices coming from our car, our house, or
whatever space we grace.
Often, I am envious of such people and think, Why can't I be more like that instead of getting all-out Greek loud and dramatically animated over things? I picture these people as examples of social anchors, living a grounded serene, stress-free life, having all their affairs in order, and consider them perfect for seeking advice and solutions from.
Then I begin to wonder. Are they repressed? Is it affecting them in some other way to not express their emotions? It must be exhausting having to be the grounding force. We are told, after all, that it is healthy and cathartic to let your emotions out, to express the way you feel inside instead of shoving things down deep within the confines of your soul to where they can build up and manifest into some toxic explosion of sorts.
Eventually, however, people snap - even these people. I inadvertently became privy to one of these rare scenarios recently.
Apparently, this acquaintance was on the phone with some bank or credit card company (and had been for the past 45 minutes, according to what I could make out). Yes, I was eavesdropping but let's be clear that the environment we were in wasn't conducive to extreme privacy given the paper thin walls. So when I heard the shrieks through those said walls, I kinda freaked out a little bit. Was there an intruder? Was she being murdered? The more I listened, the clearer it became.
"FIVE! TWO! SEVEN!....NINE! NINE! FOUR!...." Every shrilled number became louder and louder. Then...
"PERSON! PERSON!"
(pause)
"I WANT TO SPEAK WITH A F*$#ING PERSON!!!!!!!!!!"
(long, long pause)
"WHAT IS THE F&%^ING PROBLEM?!?!?"
(pause)
"NO!! I WILL NOT BE PUT ON HOLD AGAIN! DON'T YOU DARE PUT ME ON HOLD! I AM NOT DEALING WITH YOUR AUTOMATED MACHINES ANYMORE! I'VE SPENT ALMOST AN HOUR ON THE PHONE WITH YOU PEOPLE AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS..."
Then the pacing began and her voice trailed away only to return again with vengeance.
"I GO THROUGH THIS WITH YOU PEOPLE EVERY MONTH! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"
Her voice, which is usually evenly well-tempered and stable, was starting to give way...it was going...breaking...out. I felt so helpless because I knew exactly how she felt because, who hasn't been there?
Apparently, we all go to Snapville. And it feels so comforting to know that we are all capable of that visit.
