I've not much had that experience in checkouts and I've lived my whole life in the south. In fact, the only time I really can say it's happened is when it's a local rural store or neighborhood store, and then it's just catching up with neighbors.

Also, this. I mean, when I go to my local hardware store they have the same cashiers as when I was a carpenter over a decade ago, and they remember me. Which I think is very cool. And sometimes the cashiers at my coop will compliment something I'm wearing or something. And I've been known to get into conversations at the vintage store, or have a funny exchange at a coffee shop. But convenience or big box stores, nsm.

I feel airports should really be broken down into Traveler Types.

They are! Kinda. Haven't you seen the three lines that are like "Expert Traveler," "Regular Traveler," "Stupid Fucking N00b Traveler," or whatever?

I feel airports should really be broken down into Traveler Types.

Midway is. It sort of works sometimes. Once, though, I was in the Expert Traveler line in back of a SUPER drunk guy who stopped in the line to try to put his cowboy boots back on. hilarious but also irritating because it took so freaking long.

Haven't you seen the three lines that are like "Expert Traveler," "Regular Traveler," "Stupid Fucking N00b Traveler," or whatever?

I've seen the signs. I've never seen anyone admit that they aren't expert. Because they think that the expert line will be *faster* for them. And, no, it won't. Because THEY are now in it.

I've not much had that experience in checkouts and I've lived my whole life in the south. In fact, the only time I really can say it's happened is when it's a local rural store or neighborhood store, and then it's just catching up with neighbors.

I mean it's not something you're likely to run into at Kroger or Target or something.

Interesting. When I was in New Orleans, I would get that pretty frequently at drugstores and convenience stores and places like that. I don't remember it happening too often at grocery stores, but I didn't really go to grocery stores that much.

Interesting. When I was in New Orleans, I would get that pretty frequently at drugstores and convenience stores and places like that.

Those are neighborhood stores by nature. People don't drive out to another neighborhood to go to a convenience store, so it's likely the same people all the time.

Even here, the 7-11 several blocks up is our neighborhood convenience store, and lord knows those people know when I'm out of coffee at the house, when Jon and I are hungover, sometimes even when we've had a fight (one of my ways to have us both calm down until we can listen to each other is to go to that store, nose around and maybe get an icee and a trash magazine).

MM, you totally have to pitch to the Beeb. And I want to sit in on the meeting.

So it's not Americans, it's non-Southern/Western Americans.

That's pretty much what The Girl just said when she called and I relayed Shir's comment. She says Houston, where she (partly) grew up, is nothing like New York. Most of my experience of the US is of New York. So I may be generalizing far too widely.

But we Brits take politeness to a whole other level of repression.

You know, I think I'm just a little sensitive to the cultural stereotype, because the way it's usually portrayed is Stupid Southerner yammering on about unimportant stuff while Important Person With Important Things to Do is irritated.

Give me self-serve kiosks and security lines where everyone knows the drill. Oh, and free wireless. But that's not really part of this point.

Oh, but it could be! They should offer it, just no offline instructions. Then, if you can't figure out free wireless, you can't have it.

You know, I think I'm just a little sensitive to the cultural stereotype, because the way it's usually portrayed is Stupid Southerner yammering on about unimportant stuff while Important Person With Important Things to Do is irritated.

Yep. Me too. Though I'm in an irritable mood today.