when you just want to say what's on your mind...

I'm sassy. It's true. Ask anyone. Get me fired up about something, and I will give you retort after retort until the cows come home.

But when I'm at work, I bite my tongue. Actually, I bite my tongue most of the time. I try to keep my sass in the can -- most people don't react favorably to it. It tends to make them defensive. In the song "Portions of Foxes" by Rilo Kiley, she says, "There's blood on my mouth 'cause I've been biting my tongue all week..." and I can certainly identify.

While in the Atlanta airport, however, the sassy gate attendant said something I could never say (while on the job!).

Here's the scenario:

A plane arrives and it's late. The gate attendant is busy trying to get travelers where they need to go. A frantic young man gets off the plane, looks around bewilderedly, and then approaches the gate attendant. "Um, I'm just wondering if I'm going to be able to make it to concourse E to catch my flight in 15 minutes," he says.

And the gate attendant, who's always supposed to be the calming, directive, helpful sort, replies with, "I don't know, but you sure ain't gonna get there any quicker by standing here talkin' to me!"

The look on the young man's face was really quite indescribable, but I'll do my best. He sort of smiled, looked quickly again for help, realized she was serious, and then took off at a sprint to try and catch his plane.

I felt bad for him, but thanked the gate attendant for a good laugh.

** John, this wasn't nearly as funny as the finish I gave it yesterday. I just can't for the life of me remember what it was.