Two Kinds of People

We all know that in almost any situation there are “two kinds of people.”  There are, of course, good people and bad people.  There are cat people and dog people.  There are electric stove people and gas stove people (among the few who still find time to do their own cooking).  There are Pepsi People and there are Coke people, there are manual transmission and automatic transmission people, there are hotel vacation people and camping vacation people. And so forth.

Most often which kind of the two kinds you are is   simply a matter of taste, habit, preference, experience.  I grew up with dogs and only later had a cat so my line between them isn’t quite so clear.  I love driving a stick shift, but my car is automatic.  I love Pepsi but won’t complain if all there is is  Coke.  I prefer gas stoves, but mine is electric. I am not quite so flexible on the camping thing---I just happened to grow up in a family where my father’s favorite joke was that camping to him was staying in a hotel with the electric blanket set on low.

But sometimes what kind of the two kinds we are says a whole lot more about us than which kind of pet we’re going to have, or soda we’re going to drink or car we’re going to buy. It actually helps define our character.

There are two kinds of people.  In the theater, at stadiums there are two kinds of people.  There are middle of the long row people, and there are aisle people.  And I was reminded while sitting at the Rose Bowl just what might mean.

We were about 10 seats in from the end of the row, about 10 seats from the middle of the row.  Which meant that we only had a few people to trample over when we got up to get out to get something. It meant that there were only a few people trampling over us when they got up to get out to get something.   And as I was standing still, sucking my stomach in to let a larger fellow by, I remembered a conversation from my distant past about which seats to get for an Angels’ baseball game.

I am an aisle person.  As I said to our friend “I hate to have to disturb everyone every time I want to get something to eat or use the restroom.”  He confessed to being a middle of the row person.  “I don’t like sitting close to the aisle because then everybody always bothers me and I always miss a good play on the field when they’re standing in front of me.”

It is, at least a metaphor….

Which makes you who you are? Do you mind having to stand up and suck in to let someone get where they are going, or would you rather make someone else stand up and suck in to help you along the way? Do you worry more about how you might inconvenience others, or do you worry about how they inconvenience you?  Is it more important for you to get want you think you want, instead of helping someone else get what they need? 

So if you're looking for seats in the Kingdom, just where do you want them to be? 

(And BTW, I understand that in Europe when people move in and out of rows they face the seats instead of facing the front.  A much better view for everyone, I would think.)