Things You Should Have Learned Back In Kintergarden

Matthew 7:12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

It ceases to irritate me when I see adults failing to use good manners. We all should have learned back in kindergarten decades ago to say: “please,” “excuse me,” “I'm sorry” and “thank you.” Yet, sadly many adults have terrible manners. When I hear children being demanding of adults, rude, not saying “please,” I kindly correct them, as adults should do.

The Bible emphasizes the importance of good manners, highlighting that respectful conduct is a hallmark of upright living and that we should treat others with dignity and kindness. Key principles include esteeming others above oneself and using polite, kind speech to build others up (Philippians 2:3, Ephesians 4:29).

Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

Dear reader, be considerate of OTHERS. If other people are rude, inconsiderate and mean, don't you join them! It matters not if you are at the grocery store, the bank, church or rotting behind bars in prison, we all need to learn to say: “please,” “excuse me,” “I'm sorry” and “thank you.”

In prison it is a matter of survival. I heard that from Michael Franzese's father, John "Sonny" Franzese (1917-2020), who was an infamous underboss in the Colombo crime family in New York. John told his Son Michael that to survive in prison you must learn to say: “please,” “excuse me,” “I'm sorry” and “thank you.” Michael grew up in a mob environment, but his father initially did not want him to be involved in organized crime, but unfortunately he was drawn into the dirty criminal business.

When John was arrested the Prosecutor's office offered him a sweet deal, a drastically reduced prison sentence if he would snitch on the mob, but he refused. John "Sonny" Franzese spent a total of over 50 years in prison for racketeering and other serious crimes that ended with his release in 2017 at the age of 100. It was in prison when Michael became a born again Christian and he travels the world today as a Gospel evangelist. His true testimony from being a hardened murdering gangster to a born again Christian is quite remarkable.

I am often reminded of what John "Sonny" Franzese taught his son about surviving in prison, because those same good manners will help us survive throughout life, without which proper etiquette you will only hurt, offend and aggravate people.

I never go to any local business without bringing a loose cart in the parking lot into the store with me. I'm going that way anyway, so why not grab a cart or two? Lazy people just carelessly leave their shopping carts sitting in the parking lot, without consideration for OTHERS.

You can tell a lot about a particular community by driving around and looking at stuff like that, to see if people give a damn or not. If you go into Walmart or Target and see merchandise laying on the floor and no one cares to pick it up, and garbage lying on the ground throughout the neighborhood, that speaks volumes about people's irresponsible and selfish attitudes toward the things of OTHERS. I care; therefore, I NEVER toss my garbage onto the ground. I would NEVER leave my cart randomly sitting in a store's parking lot. I would either return the cart to the cart corral or bring it back into the store where I got it.

People are so bad that they refuse to even flesh the toilet. When I see paper towels lying on the floor in a public restroom, I pick them up to throw away and then wash my hands. My goal is to always leave whatever public place I enter cleaner when I leave than when I arrived. The old adage is very true: Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? How are your manners dear reader?

When the traffic light turns green, I have heard drivers lay on their car's horn in anger because the vehicle in front of them didn't move right away. That happens to me from time to time, when the car in front of me just sits there when the light turns green. I NEVER touch my horn!!! I have actually sat through an entire green light that turned red again, while the car in front of me didn't move, and I just calmly waited and didn't honk my horn. I just don't want to be an impatient kind of person.

I decided a long time ago that when I go into any business, and there is a long waiting line, I will just stay calm and wait as long as it takes. If I get too frustrated I will just quietly leave and come back another day, but getting upset, emotional and angry is a loser's game.

Every month before I step foot into CVS to go to their Pharmacy, I have to prepare my mind for whatever may happen, so I don't get caught off guard and become angry. Case in point, last week I called the CVS Pharmacy ahead of time to ask the pharmacist if my pain medications were ready, and she confirmed that they were ready. But when I got to CVS an hour later, she said she was busy and hadn't got to it yet, and told me to come back later. I kindly thanked her and said I'd be back later. I didn't complain. I drove 15 minutes away and she called me to say that the drugs were ready. Arrggh! But I thanked her, didn't complain or get upset, and I just had a good afternoon anyway.

It is so much better to live life that way, then to always be a nervous wreck, angry at everyone, and have a poor Christian testimony. Believe me, people do see how we behave, respond and treat OTHERS. I truly don't consider myself a good Christian, I don't. But I do want to care and be nice to everybody, because everyone is having a rough time. 1st Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” God knows that there have been plenty of times in my life when I didn't glorify God, but I don't want to be that guy ever again. The dear Savior deserves our very best!