However, I did NOT! Actually, I did, but it was too late. I am a person that does not live with regret. It's useless, but I am making an exception here, since I DO regret not calling them right off the bat.
If I hadn't already started to put gas into Jiminy, I would have hightailed it out of there PDQ. I was at our local gas bar downtown at lunchtime, pumping gas into Jiminy, when I saw groups of high school students coming crossing the street and meridians, heading for said gas bar, which also has a Tim's drive-thru and inside counter. Avoiding people in general and any groups specifically during these pandemic times, has become my MO, so you can imagine how I was a little miffed at the thought of all these students swarming this gas bar, where I now HAD to go in to pay. I have nothing against our youth; I am after all a retired teacher, but I know how youth can feel like MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. I TOO once felt that way. :)
I was able to squeeze in, before any of them landed in, and noted right away that although a posting at the door asked patrons to limit themselves to three people inside at any time, there were already four or five people in this tiny space, all lined up at Tim's. The cashier for the gas waved me in, so IN I went. When I remarked that there were already more people than the maximum, she shrugged and said, "No one seems to pay any attention to that."
I paid, but when I turned around, six students had just walked in, effectively blocking the door, and were in a huddle closer than ANY you would see in a CFL game. There were no masks either, but that is not the point here. They are not mandatory yet in NB. I was wearing mine, and I approached this group, asking them to wait outside, as they were blocking the entrance and not respecting social distancing. One smart Alec spoke up for them all, and belligerently informed me that they had ALL walked over together, and no, they weren't separating. I repeated my request, explaining the rules, such as they are, and asking them again to wait outside. No way, José, was the answer, more or less.
THIS is the moment I should have turned to the cashier and said, "Please call the police, Madame," but I didn't, to my regret. Oops! Am I repeating myself? I exited the gas bar, having to squeeze by six or more teenagers. In my total frustration, I merely muttered "Mal éléveé!", as I strode out.
By the time I got home, I WAS spitting bullets. I listed, in my head, my three possible plans of action. Number 1? Call the principal of the high school, which I did, and while he was attentive and supportive, since I could NOT identify the mouthy one, (MAUDIT!) other than to say I was sure he was in Grade 9 OR 10, he suggested I speak to the owner of the establishment as well.
Well, I decided to skip that step, and go right to the NB "Snitch Line", since by my reasoning, this owner really didn't care about how many people were in his establishment, as he would have had better enforcement of the rules available on the premises IF he were concerned. I hadn't even seen any hand sanitizer there.
W-E-L-L, wouldn't you know it, the "Snitch Line" is down temporarily, due to technical difficulties. Maudit!
Plan 3 - NOW I called the police, spoke to the dispatcher, explained in great detail what had happened, and was told a police officer would contact me.
Later that day, I looked up when Vimy started barking, and sure enough, there was a city police cruiser parked in front of my house. Maudit! While I really don't give TWO figs what people think, (which we ALL know is a perogative of OLD people, to not give a S&*!) I know that when I see a police cruiser in someone's driverway, or close by, I always wonder "Hmmm, why are they there?"
In walks this masked officer, explaining that he had dropped by since he couldn't reach me by phone. Well, that is because I have programmed my phone to NOT receive calls while I am driving, MAUDIT!
Among other things, he advised me to indeed CALL THEM NEXT TIME. I politely informed him there would BE no next time, as I would never go there again at lunchtime, or better yet, I would just always go to another gas bar. I suggested that maybe they could make a point of cruising by around lunch time, for the next week or so, just to make their presence felt and maybe remind these "young uns", to be respectful in all ways
In light of the newest return to stricter lockdown measures in both Ontario and Québec, I felt it was IMPERATIVE that I speak up. The steady increase in positive COVID tests in those provinces has been proven to come from the "under forty" demographic. Québec alone had over 1,000 new cases in ONE day, this week. We live in a relatively safe little cocoon here in the Maritimes, but we are NOT immune. We TOO may soon face a deadly "second wave."
Parents... please educate your children, the very young and yes, those cocky teenagers, to listen, and listen well, when they are asked by a petite, white haired lady, to step "OUTSIDE!"
