full moons and not so bright lights

I once knew a man who would only cut his hair and beard, or trim his nails on the full moon. He was very odd and we suspected that he wore his mother's clothes when at home. She had died when he was a young boy.

In my other life, I managed bookshops and we alway knew when the full moon was in its glory because our freakest customers would come into the store. Every crazy would decide that was the day to go and descend on the bookshop. I thought this was just a coincidence until a friend who is a clinically assessed depressive and takes pleasure in telling me that she has an official certificate to say that she is certifiably mentally ill said that she was indeed influenced by the full moon. Her psychologist also confirmed to her that the moon does appear to have an influence on some people.

 Another customer who only ordered his books (always about manga comics) on the full moon would stand at the counter and go on and on about his latest obsession each month. We did not see them the rest of the month. Even the behaviour of the coffee shop manager in our store would become more bizare at that time of the month (most of the time we called her the creature that lives above the stairs, so it must have been pretty obvious for us to notice!). We suffered more complaints and abuse at that time of the month than at any other time.  We started to suspect our own mental health after awhile but only because of the customers we were forced to serve - I think!

Everyone always thinks that to work in a bookstore or a library is such a wonderful place to work, but the truth is that you are a target for every angry, abusive, lonely or crazy person in the world and because you are in a service industry you just have to take it. And as for reading those books, well you are so tired at the end of the day from moving the books from boxes to shelf and back to boxes that you are too tired to read at night!

A work colleague of my daughter's recently said that she if she is feeling bad about herself she likes to go into stores and is purposely rude to the staff because it makes her feel better. Obviously she has no compassion or any understanding that the shop assistant is indeed another person with feelings. No wonder there are so many conflicts in the world when we have to inflict emotional pain on someone else to make ourselves feel better.

One of my real hates is when I go to lunch with someone and they make a fuss about a water mark on the cutlery, or they make a scene to the poor waitress because the barista didn't make the coffee to the right temperature. Certainly complain and ask for a replacement if you need to, but do it with dignity and politeness.Everyone is so busy thinking "me" no one is thinking "you and me". Notice the you is before me?

 Treat others the way that you would like to be treated yourself and the world will be a better place.