"the phenomenon of the plastic smile"

i came across this article about the "seattle freeze," and i've experienced some of what the article talks about too (it was most noticeable while i was in college). in general, people in seattle are polite and friendly but only at the superficial level (dear pacific northwest friends please don't take offense...it's not you i'm talking about). i admit, i have also been guilty of committing the seattle freeze while i lived there, simply because it was easier on my part to not make the effort to follow through. letting myself be consumed with my own daily routine was just less of an inconvenience (continually working on changing that though).

anyway, one personal story that comes to mind was during my employment at uptown espresso when my tips got stolen during a night shift (all shifts at uptown except in the AM are worked alone). there was this homeless guy that managed to distract my attention (counting on my "seattle" politeness to provide some, probably) by asking for a glass of water. while my back was turned, he grabbed all my tips (about $20 worth) and prepared to make a getaway. fortunately, aaron was there and shouted at the man,"you better put that money back...is that all of it?...why did you take her money?" it was quite a big commotion, but did the 6 REGULARS (that know me, are friendly with me, converse w/ me) in the shop jump up to see what was the matter? no. one person looked up, but quickly went back to working on his laptop after realizing what was going on. i wasn't angry that a homeless guy tried to steal my tips. i actually felt bad for him, because he had to resort to theft in order to provide for himself. i was more angry at the regulars, the people who i've had a weekly relationship with, because they ignored the whole situation. after the incident, no one came up to ask what had happened and instead went about as if nothing ever happened. these were people that i thought i could count on if something ever happened to me at the shop, but boy did they have me fooled. that is prime seattle behavior, right there. people care, but only if it doesn't inconvenience them. but don't get me wrong, we love seattle and we love our AWESOME friends and family there, but it's just a general seattle-tude thing.