“Do forgive me, kind sir, but I feel it imperative to indicate to you, that through no apparent fault nor undue malevolence on your part, you seem to have stridden into the queue at the incorrect point of terminus. Please be so kind as to allow me to guide you, with steed and thoughtful diligence, to the proper anticipatory location for you to finalize your pharmaceutical transaction.”
I like the “Hey, bub” version better.
You should only call other persons “bub” if you are also prepared to thrust a triplet of adamantium claws into their midsection. I read it in Miss Manners.
Well, it might have been X-Men.
About a year ago, I’d picked up my morning coffee and donut at Shipley’s, as is my wont, and stood waiting to get to the sugar and creamer while a guy ahead of me practically performed a laboratory analysis. He’d add a little sugar, a little cream, stir it 12 times, take a sip, add a little more, etc. I swear he adjusted the milk/sweetener ratio four freakin’ times. I just stood there patiently; didn’t say boo, or Bub, for that matter.
Suddenly he realizes there’s someone behind him waiting to get at the supplies, and apparently notices my raised eyebrow. With a face like thunder, he spits out, “Well, you didn’t have to give me such a fucked up look!”, then storms out.
I hereby apologize in advance for any fucked up looks I may give anyone in the future.
Another vote here for “Bub” to have responded with "Thanks for the tipoff, chief. Perhaps with the slightest trace of a smirk on his face.
To which VunderBob could have responded (with a leer) “No sweat, mac.” This would have led to a diminishing chorus of mutual ever-so-mildly insulting endearments, followed by an uneasy cease-fire.
Until the guy calls out as VunderBob is departing with his prescription, “Hey, how much did they charge you for that 10-year supply of Levitra?”
It could have escalated out of control:
“Bub”
“Chief”
“Buster”
“Comrade”
“Bro’”
“Buddy”
“Chum”
“Daddy-O”
and then the dreaded “Dude”.
What a bunch of self-righteous asshats. Is everyone in Doper Town getting their living rooms painted, causing them to hang out here today?
Good call, VunderBob.
An EMT kicking a guy’s ass, then treating him?
Classic.
Yeah - probably more effective than heading to the Halloween display …
Which is all the more impressive given the elevation of the plane on which it began! 
Yeah, those people crack me up.
I once had an encounter with a housemate of low character. He was angry at me over some perceived misdeed and he brought a large friend to my room and pounded on the door.
When I opened it, he insisted that he was going to kick my ass and I had better not start anything. I replied, “if you want to start something I’m right here.” His verbal assault progressively escalated, primarily focused on two points:
He wasn’t afraid of me – he could take me. I kept asking why, if that was true, he’d brought the big guy. He’d reassert he didn’t need him. Around in circles it went.
He was just about to start kicking my ass momentarily. I’d reply, why wait? I’m right here.
Eventually I shut the door on him while he was jabbering, as I had other things to do.
The fact that he and his friend actually went away after I shut the door told me everything I needed to know about his seriousness. The issue did not come up again.
I dunno, I think Bub is pretty insulting/condescending. I mean, when i hear ‘bub’ i think ‘idiot’. so basically, you just said “hey, idiot, the line starts here.” Which wouldn’t drive me into paroxysms of rage, but may have ticked me off a bit. As a female, if you’d called me sweetie, dear, hun, or honey, I’d be just as offended. “Bub” isn’t aggressive, it’s just rude.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Dope, it’s that one shouldn’t post threads about relatively innocuous random events in one’s life they happen to encounter. For example, I wrote about a full page length OP once about how this guy wanted to race me on the highway, and I saw him in my rearview about half a second later. But I didn’t, because I didn’t want the barrage of people saying, “racing is dangerous”, “you endangered more lives than your own”, and, “why do you hate America?”.
Another thing I’ve learned is, that the best “weapon” in a fight is surprise. If I’m going to get in a fight, I’m damn sure not going to announce it by pushing and shoving, or even worse, saying, “I’m going to kick your ass.”
So, a lesson to both of you. 
There’s a scene in Jim Harrison’s “A Good Day To Day” where 2 guys meet over a pool table in a bar, and one guy uses his cue to lay out 3d guy (military) who was jawing at them.
To paraphrase:
One guy - “What are you doing? He might have known karate!”
2d guy - “No one knows shit if you get a good enough shot in first!”
I always liked that scene.
This reminds me of that great scene from Ocean’s Eleven:
Turk: Watch it, bud.
Virgil: Who you callin’ bud, pal?
Turk: Who you callin’ pal, friend?
Virgil: Who you callin’ friend, jackass?
Turk: Don’t call me a jackass.
Virgil: I just did call you a jackass.
For this reason, I find it’s usually best to avoid calling strangers anything that could set them off. And I find the OP’s reliance on the “aces” up his “sleeve” amusing and incredibly naive, as these types of people often have “guns” up their “sleeves,” and if the OP isn’t careful, he is going to end up using some of his “medical supplies” that he carries to apply a “tourniquet” to his “aorta.”
The progression goes:
Pal
Buddy (now it is on)
Chief (are you a chief? Are you the chief of police? On the Kansas City Chiefs? An Indian chief?)
Gaylord (the one line you cannot come back from)
I’m using that next time someone line-jumps me.
I think the best revenge in this situation is to release a nice SBD when Bub gets in line behind you. Nothing teaches manners faster than noxious vapors. 
Georgia Man # 1 - “Hey bub! The line starts there.”
Georgia Man #2 - “That’s Buh-ba to you.”
I dunno, considering the response I’d be willing to bet money the guy would have been a jerk even with an uber-polite “Excuse me, the line is over here” comment. Maybe VB could have been more polite than he was, I don’t know; I wouldn’t consider “bub” a big deal but it could be a regional thing. Hey msmith, is “bub” equal to “bubba” on that scale, or better/worse?
Related story: Last December, my husband and I were out shopping for presents, and there were probably a half-dozen or so people in the line, which was marked out by those rope and pole things, and wound behind some small racks. One woman went from another part of the store right to the “exit” part of the ropes, walking up to a cashier who was trying to hail the person at the start of the line, in the opposite direction from the new customer. My husband does have a loud voice at times, but he used a perfectly polite and mild tone (and volume) of voice, and said something that was nearly or exactly, “Excuse me, but the line is back here.” The woman snapped back in a very harsh and loud voice, “I know, already!”, and started walking around the racks to get back there. The cashier went :o and I heard people around me mutter a bit. I can see that kind of response if people had repeatedly told her, but it was only him, and he really was being soothing about it. Hey, it’s a stressful time of year, we’re just trying to get presents for our loved ones, we’re all dealing with junk, right?
I’m not too terribly proud of this*, but I snapped a little. My husband is a sweet guy and that was really a major overreaction. So she snaps, people go whoa, and in a barely-under-conversational volume, I say, “Someone had bitch flakes for breakfast this morning.” Grouchy Lady continues moving to get in line and I hear some snickers around us. The cashier tries not to smile. We were extra-polite with her!
This is what makes me believe the ‘bub’ came out antagonistic to the line-jumper’s ears.
VunderBob, you could have been polite, maybe he’d have responded in kind. Instead you chose to be a jerk and he did respond in kind. Sure he went over the top, but regardless of where it appears on the rude scale, “Bub” is still rude, so you were the one that started the confrontation off. Maybe next time you’ll consider politeness; everyone will feel a whole lot better for it.