"Adult" is not a synonym for common sense

Last night, I volunteered as a docent for a downtown tour of homes that invovled standing in a room for three hours saying the same thing every three minutes or so. I'm not complaining about that, exactly, because I really do enjoy it. Standing on your feet for three hours straight isn't terribly comfortable, but I have such a good time talking to people as they walk through the house that it's worth a little foot pain.

But you would think that some of these people were raised by idiots...which in some cases is probably true. The houses on the tours are private homes that people have graciously opened to the public, and you would think that people would respect that, but that's not always the case.

I didn't have anybody try to touch anything last night, but I did a tour last fall where this woman actually opened an old cutlery box when my back was turned. She almost dropped the lid when I turned around to give her the stink eye. Are you kidding me? What would possess you to touch something in a person's private home when you are on a tour? And 9 times out of 10, the culprit is an adult. I rarely see small children on these tours, so that leaves imbecilic adults who don't know how to behave themselves.

In addition to sticky fingers, I also get a lot of arrogant know-it-alls who like to interrupt/correct me when they think they know more than I do. I will admit it when I don't know something for certain, but I hate being interrupted. I had a man last night who I had to use my "teacher stare" on to get him to stop talking so I could begin the tour. After that, he interrupted me three times. Hello?! Use manners much? I am not a genius, but I do know a few things about old buildings and I never say things that are inaccurate.

This just reinforces my belief that just because you're an adult does not mean that you are a professional, considerate person. When you're a kid, all adults seem so cool and sophisticated and always know the right thing to do and say. Now I know that is not always the case.

Oh well, maybe I'll just bring a cattle prod and perfect my disapproving glare to encourage people to keep their grubby hands off people's personal property and keep their unwanted opinions to themselves.