Within a few minutes I chose a classic Leiberl, which I quickly tried in the changing room and found to be good. Then I wanted to pay. A dozen people were waiting in front of the cash registers. I got in line and noticed that the line next to me was moving much faster than the one I was in.
And that’s exactly how I always feel, whether in the supermarket, in the gas station or in the fashion store. I always find myself in front of the checkout, where I have to wait the longest. Those in the other rows pass me smiling. When I’m almost at my destination, the person in front of me will definitely have to exchange something, want to fill out the coupon for a customer card or have forgotten to weigh the zucchini or apples.
Murphy’s law
I always practice patience in such situations, smiling away my impatience and wondering why I fall victim to “Murphy’s Law” almost daily, named after the American engineer Captain Edward A. Murphy. In the 1940s, he studied work processes in the US Air Force and discovered that whenever something could go wrong, that’s exactly what happened. His conclusion: Anything that can go wrong is guaranteed to go wrong.
Which brings us back to the topic: As already mentioned, I stood in front of the cash register in my black T-shirt for a good fifteen minutes and thought to myself that I had almost made it. Confident of victory, I placed the item of clothing on the shelf in front of the cashier, who turned not to me but to her colleague and said she had to take a break now. There I stood and cursed Mr. Murphy, who had cost me half an hour and really ruined my lunch break.
“You want to pay?” a saleswoman asked at that moment. She didn’t even wait for my answer, but instead told me about various benefits if I became a member of the fashion club here and now. What I did then. I almost didn’t notice that the line behind me was getting longer and longer.
