Perhaps one of the most important experiences of everyone's life is the first time working in a job where there is constant interaction with customers. This stretches from being a cashier at a grocery store to being a guide at some major attraction.

For me, that first experience was as an exhibit guide at the National Aquarium, in Baltimore. Let me begin by saying that they offer an internship over the summer where high school students can volunteer to be exhibit guides, and that it is a wonderful experience. I learned a lot and overall had an amazing time.

Let me continue by saying that it has totally destroyed any faith in humanity that I had managed to maintain after being enrolled in the public education system for the vast majority of my life.

Now, based on my experience working at the aquarium over the summer, I may never recover from the severe exposure to absolute stupidity I was put through by the various patrons to whom I attended.

From what I observed there are three main types of people who visit the aquarium.

* The Unobservant/Unthinking. These are the types of people who would walk into the rain forest exhibit, I would point out a Golden Lion Tamarin, and they would promptly ask what type of environment they lived in. I would look around for a minute, as if considering and then invariably respond with "The Russian tundra." Sadly, most would nod appreciatively and thank me before moving on. This category also includes the countless people who would approach me and ask, "What time does my 11:30 dolphin show start?"

* The Obnoxious Little Kid. These are the children whose parents have no control over them, and not the "Oh, we let our kid make his own decisions" kind of thing; the totally out-of-control-brat kind of thing. I was once working at the children's cover, where there are horseshoe crabs and whelks for people to touch, and had a little boy grab a whelk, pull it out of the water, and run away with it. There was also an incident where a child actually stuck his head into the pool of water. Neither incident was particularly fun for me.

* The Unacceptable. These people seem to exist solely to make one's job more difficult, asking such absurd questions as "Do you keep the fish in water?" and "Where's the aquarium?". It could be more than a little frustrating to deal with these people.

These are the people who made my life interesting and unbearable for the three months of my internship. They provided me with great stories, and some horrible memories. And I have no doubt that in every job you must deal with these exact same people, with only the details changed.

It is this I feel that bonds together those who must deal with customers on a daily basis and what unites teens across the country; giving us a universal topic on which we all have knowledge: the stupidity of others.

Dan Collins is a senior at Mt. Hebron High School. You can reach him at mphelan@theviewnewspapers.com.

---

user comments (0)