At the local grocery store, there are two cashiers on opposites side of the space leading to the exit. When it's busy, people generally line up along one side or the other. When I see a few people ahead of me, I wait right in the middle. Sometimes another customer will come up to me as I'm waiting and ask me which line I'm in. I explain, as nicely as I can, that I'm just waiting for the next available cashier. This never fails to cause a little trouble.

I might say something like, "I can see that you are in a hurry. Please go ahead of me." But they never do. They just want me to choose, and I don't want to. Sometimes people seem offended by this. One complained about my "attitude."

Today the other person turned away and found the manager and asked him, "How many lines are there?" The manager said, "Two." It was good to have another opinion but not enough to make me want to move. I suppose the other customer felt better knowing he was "right" and I was "wrong."

And now I wonder, who is the control freak? The other customer, who wants me to choose, and can't stand the suspense? Or is it me, the one who is knowingly creating this little confrontation?

Every time I do this, I enjoy it more. The first time it happened by accident and it scared me a little. Now I have a better idea of what to expect, but every time is different. Every person is different. Not many people will confront me in this situation. I wonder what it is that makes a few them do it.