Existentialism at the Supermarket

The workers at Hannaford's grocery store in Hudson, MA, don't say thank you. Ever. From habit I sometimes say it to them, at which point they hand me my receipt and say "have a nice day." But they won't initiate it. If I say nothing, we conduct our exchange in total silence. We might be in a pantomime show or a kabuki theatre presentation--Give Me The Change, Grasshopper. I find myself wanting to lecture these twerps. Or smack them. Or at least say in a whiney show-offey way, "you're welcome."

I don't have the nerve, though.