13 July 2020

Around 26 years ago, we moved from Karratha in the North West of our state, back to the city area. We’d been there for a bit over four years this time, and gained a second child while we were there.

After unpacking and removing a bit of the ingrained red dirt from the soles of our feet, I went to the local shopping centre with the kids to do a bit of gawking.

We wandered around amazed at the size of the shopping centre, the huge number of shops, and the crowd that was apparently just locals doing their shopping. It was all very eye-opening.

We began to realise that there must have been ‘something’ happening ahead of us, as people were all surging ahead in a rapid motion. Being bonafide sticky-beaks, we surged ahead also to see what was happening. A prize giveaway? A fight? A fire alarm that we hadn’t heard?????

Nope. They were just doing their shopping. They were just moving a lot faster than we were!

It probably only took us a month or so before we also moved at a similar speed. We became regular city-dwellers who had things to do, places to go, and people to see. The laid back speed of the north-west became a thing of the past.

I was reminded of this today at one of my local shopping centres, as I got stuck behind a young mother with two small children….. who. were. going. sooooo. slow. Everyone was kind of physical distancing, but there still wasn’t enough room to overtake them.

I had things to do. I wanted to hit the coffee shop to buy more coffee pods, before meeting up with a couple of girlfriends at a cafe for…. a coffee. I was a bit early for once, so there wasn’t any reason I had to get frustrated at their lack of speed and direction.

But I did.

I eventually saw an opportunity to overtake – an elderly woman coming in the other direction paused to look on a shop window so I put a bit of speed on and “pardon me”d my way past them all.

I bought the coffee pods, met with my friends and we sat down for a leisurely catch up, looking on in amazement at the people hurtling past us, charging past old ladies and small children, intent on getting somewhere fast.

Some people just have no patience, don’t you think?