Smashing pumpkins

“The problem is that people don't want to listen to each other.”

Next to me in the queue is a tall man with a turtleneck and glasses that look like they are made of copper wire. It is busy at the greengrocer. A long line has formed at the cash register. I only have to pay for a net of mandarins and four bananas. The man next to me has three bags filled with vegetables and fresh fruit.

“People are so obsessed with their own voice, their own opinion, their own right that they do not give themselves space and time to hear what someone else has to say. It does not occur to them that someone else might have good insights. Visions, views.”

I do not really know if the critic wants me to start a conversation or if he is just using me as a listening ear. When I quickly look back, I see that he has closed his eyes. His sharp nose, his upturned chin, his small eyes. He looks like a Roman emperor. August? Claudius?

“While the principle is so simple. When people can distance themselves from demanding situations. To take a step back. So that they are not so directly involved emotionally. From this somewhat distant position, they can then assess much better what is going on. What is happening? What do I feel? And from that observation it is quite easy to make a connection with what you want. What is your need? What are your desires, preferences, aspirations?”

The man looks at his watch. He has a point. We have been in line for more than ten minutes and we haven't moved ten inches. Is the cash register broken? Has the owner decided to have a cup of tea?

“If we continue at this pace, it won't be our turn tomorrow morning,” I say offhandedly. As if I have known the man next to me for a long time. However, the wise guy does not respond. He bites his lips and sets the bags on the stone floor. But because the bags are so full, they fall over and some of the contents roll through the store. Apples, cauliflowers, chicory, conference pears. He curses under his breath and hastily stuffs everything back.

“I tell you, if people were more aware of the fact that others also exist and can also have a good and distinctive opinion, life on this earth would look much more beautiful and rosier,”

He has not uttered this cliché yet, when something at the cash register catches his attention. An older woman wearing a terracotta-colored raincoat has walked past the queue and without batting an eyelid places her groceries on the wooden table. Everyone sees it. Nobody says anything. We remain silent like new potatoes.

“Hey, missy! Hey, ma'am! That just isn't possible. Everyone has to wait for his or her turn!” His voice now suddenly sounds heavy and stern. So, he could be a police officer? Or boxing instructor?

The woman looks back in shame. She mumbles something inaudible. The greengrocer, however, gestures that it is all correct. My neighbor is not satisfied with this. He strides forward and starts to talk to the two protagonists. Although he seemed like a fairly composed and calm person when he was still standing next to me with his full bags, now there seems to be little sign of any peace and sobriety. He stands in the store. Screaming, yelling.

I'm about to walk up to the know-it-all and whisper to him what he just told me. It would be better if he took a step back. To listen carefully? So that he could assess what is actually going on?

But instead of taking a step back, the nitpicker takes a step forward. He violently pushes the owner of the vegetable shop in such a way that he falls with his shoulder against a box full of kale. Now other customers are also starting to get involved. In no time, oranges, pineapples, red hot chili peppers, eggplants and cabbages fly through the air. At one point I see the fierce and wild entrepreneur carrying a pumpkin. With a targeted movement he hits this colossus against the back of the head of the loudly ranting busybody.

Later that day I understood that the older woman with the terracotta-colored raincoat was given priority because she suffers from a serious form of cancer. And that meant she could only be present in the greengrocer's shop for a short time that morning.