Courtesy...

Interesting experience over the past two days. A colleague and I were manning a booth at an enormous art festival set up along the bike trail in Memorial Park. This is an event typically attended by thousands of people, where they can see/purchase the work of juried artists from all over the U.S. All kinds of wonderfully creative ideas all in one place.

Our job is to spread the word about the museum and its programs, hand out materials, answer questions, etc. Though the weather can be somewhat unpredictable in March, it will often heat up quite a lot when the sun is out - and this year, with hundreds of trees being cut down from the drought, there was even less shade than normal.

This is when we hand out cardboard fans emblazoned with photos of the house and the visitor's center, on a handy wooden handle. These become extremely popular, and we are happy to give the crowd something practical to get them through the day.

Most people, if we don't offer one first, will do us the courtesy of asking for them in some sort of nice way, such as "May I have..." or "I would love to have..." or "May my wife have one of those..." But then, there are some who come up and just say "I want one of those," or even just look at you with their hand out and say "Fan." Not "Fan?" No please. No may I. Just "Fan."

And then there are those, I kid you not, who walk up to you, not even with a hand out, but just looking at you expectantly as if you will read their minds, or just staring at you blankly - never say please or thank you or may I. After a few seconds, you finally can't help yourself in the silence, and say "Would you like a fan?" You offer it, they take it, and they walk away, never saying "Thanks" or responding to you in any way.

Oh, my goodness. That is so creepy. And lacking in courtesy.