{"id":95148,"date":"2024-01-07T05:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T18:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=95148"},"modified":"2023-12-14T11:48:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T00:48:10","slug":"from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-17-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-17-december\/","title":{"rendered":"From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli \u2013 07 January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I feel I am marching to the beat of my own drum, regardless; or perhaps I am a relic from a forgotten past. Maybe I am a foundling alien!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DEGREES of lateness notwithstanding, I try, always to be polite.<\/p>\n

A theatrical life demands you be polite to those people who have paid money to see your production. They are, ultimately, those who keep in buns and Bonox!<\/p>\n

I am first to admit, I am very capable of being unpleasant – even nasty; however, it is not my natural or preferred state of existence. I am attracted to people. I talk! The human condition is endlessly fascinating. My entire career has been studying the text; trying to understand the modus operandi of characters – fictitious and real. I am never bored with the minutia of other people\u2019s lives. Invariably, it makes for the best drama.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is a date of birth problem. I am of the first generation of baby-boomers. A child of the 1950s, I went away to boarding school in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

The Second World War was fought for me and my contemporaries. We wallowed in victory\u2019s long shadow. We viewed the world through a roseate hue. All that could be done, was done, to prepare us for a prosperous career. We were the first generation with a sense of entitlement.<\/p>\n

Conversely, we were subjected to rigid standards of behaviour. Adults were addressed as Mister and Misses; children travelling on buses gave-up their seats for their elders; you rose when a teacher entered the room, regardless; you were not allowed to back-answer or argue – even when you were right; if a policeman told you to \u201cget-off home, or I\u2019ll give you a kick in the backside\u201d, you high-tailed it, fearing he would arrive and snitch to your parents. You had to be home before dark – no excuses! It was the age of physical chastisement. We were polite, always.<\/p>\n

In recent times, three encounters with employees have culminated in distressingly stern words.<\/p>\n

The first was with a medical receptionist – the last place you would expect to encounter personal antipathy. Self-evidently, you are there because all is not well – sometimes seriously so. That temperament is not the first criteria for employment in such an establishment is a conundrum.<\/p>\n

I have visited the same franchise pizza parlour for 15 years. Always, I ordered the same treat: a small, vegetarian. Without fail, it was delicious.<\/p>\n

On my last visit, and without checking the menu, I ordered the usual.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst, there had been changes to the venue which included an increase in cost, and to the topping of the vegetarian pizza. It was horrid. Not quite, but almost, inedible.<\/p>\n

When I complained the waitress was indifferent, besides, \u201cWe\u2019re too busy to tell customers about menu changes\u201d.<\/p>\n

I went to pay. The unprepossessing employee was disinterested.<\/p>\n

Was he aware of my complaint? \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ingredients were awful, \u201cIt\u2019s on the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

For how pizzas many am I paying? \u201cTwo, ya ade it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unequivocally, I would not be returning, \u201cOkay!\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereupon he turned away.<\/p>\n

The encounter at the third major supermarket was the straw which broke the camel\u2019s back. I changed direction, almost colliding with a shop assistant. \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I said, and smiled. If looks could kill I would be dead. She walked away.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I called after her. \u201cMind your manners.\u201d She stopped, looked, all but curled her lip, and moved-on.<\/p>\n

I called for the manager. He responded to my complaint and suggestion, succinctly, \u201cOkay. No worries!\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, I am a relic. I give-up! Rudeness prevails.<\/p>\n

Roland can be contacted via roland@rolandroc.com<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes I feel I am marching to the beat of my own drum, regardless; or perhaps I am a relic from a forgotten past. Maybe I am a foundling alien!   DEGREES of lateness notwithstanding, I try, always to be polite. A theatrical life demands you be polite to those people who have paid money […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":95149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-95148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli \u2013 07 January - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/from-the-desk-of-roland-rocchiccioli-17-december\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli \u2013 07 January - Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes I feel I am marching to the beat of my own drum, regardless; or perhaps I am a relic from a forgotten past. 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