The Ravenous Wolf

Hunger is a serious issue.  I believe I don't and probably can't understand how blessed I am to have food readily available to me any time of the day.  I do understand that countless people go days (we're not talking hours, or maybe 1 day) at a time without getting something to eat and that blows my mind.  I wonder how they do it.

But, this post isn't about starving kids in Africa.  It's about the wolves among us who make their appearance at restaurants and other places where one can get food.  These people come in all shapes and sizes.  They can make their appearances finely dressed or look like they just rolled out of bed.  They often seem like average, ordinary people - people you could see yourself hanging out with.  That is, until their fangs come out when they don't get what they want.

I'm talking about the kinds of people who readily lose their temper and congenial behavior because they are hungry and something doesn't go their way.  It could be because their order got messed up.  It could be that the food wasn't as good as they had hoped.  Or it could be because they were wanting to use their Subway card at the CougarEat Subway only to be told that this particular Subway doesn't accept those cards for some reason (obviously a very hypothetical example).

This particular person seemed nice enough and very familiar with Subway while she was making her order.  She wasn't even overly particular with her order or anything.  But, when she was told that those cards have written on the back that Subway reserves the right to choose which stores accept or decline Subway cards.  She got very upset and obnoxious with the staff, then stormed off as soon as her food was paid for.

Why do people have to lose their cool in situations like this?  It wasn't like she didn't get her food.  It wasn't like her food randomly cost more than it should.  It wasn't like her food was irreparably ruined.  It was just because she couldn't get the points on her card.  The only issue here was a simple misunderstanding.  The rules were nicely and effectively communicated, but for some reason it wasn't enough.

I've worked in a number of restaurants and have dealt with the ravenous wolf and let me tell you, it can get quite ridiculous.  I've hung out with friends who have turned into the wolf and have gone on dates with girls who have flashed their canines.  I typically slowly stop hanging out with those friends and certainly make that the last date.  I believe this kind of behavior is only acceptable if someone has deliberately been wronged or if we're talking about a toddler.  Call  me naive, but I believe that people generally don't deliberately try to hurt others.  If you're still acting like a toddler, then there are some serious issues that need to be worked on.  Nobody likes to see the ravenous wolf.