The man who said “no”
On Christmas day, Hayley and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. As it was opening day, the theater was very crowded. Hayley and I got to the theater about 45 minutes early, as we knew this would be the case. We weren’t alone. There was already a line to get into the theater when we got there.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as conscious of how popular this movie would be, and arrived about 10 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start. By that time, there were very few available seats in large groups. Most were single seats. In an effort to be a “hero” some guy on our row asked Hayley and me to move down a seat, just in case there was a couple that came in. We were bugged, but we moved. Because we’re good people and all.
Then, the unbelievable happened. A woman needed a group of like four seats and asked a man on the row in front of us if he could please scoot down. He said, “No.”
I’ve seen a lot of movies in my day and I’ve been asked to move to numerous times. But I’ve never had the gumption to actually say no, no matter how annoyed I was.
This selfish act hasn’t inspired, nor will it direct, my future decisions to not move, but I will always remember this nameless man and the stand he took against the folks who are more selfish, who think they can get to the movie five minutes early and still sit together.
As for Benjamin Button, it was fine, but not as memorable as the stand that man took.
What acts of selfish courage have you witnessed recently?
