Don't get too excited. I didn't win a million dollars, and I didn't see the head of the previously seen headless man in my basement. It's ordinary everyday stuff, but so far outside Val's comfort zone that the earth might have stopped spinning for a nanosecond.
Wednesday, I stopped by Country Mart for scratchers out of their machines. Can't just buy from one machine, because it might be the wrong one! Anyhoo, I parked in a row perpendicular to the store. Third space. Nothing was parked in the row across from T-Hoe. I walked over two empty parking spaces to get to the door.
An old man was buying scratchers at the machine on my left as I entered the door. So I went right. Bought my tickets. The old man had left the store during my transaction. Not that it took long. I know what I want when I go in there. I went to the other machine, tapped my selections, and left.
As I walked towards T-Hoe, over those two empty parking spaces, I saw
SCRATCHERS ON THE PAVEMENT!
What in the Not-Heaven? Who would leave scratchers there? Here's the mind-boggling part:
I WALKED RIGHT PAST THEM!
Can you believe it? Those scratchers were face-down. I could tell by their size that they were the $5 tickets. I'm sure they were just losers discarded by a ne'er-do-well litterer. But they were not bent or scratched-looking. Still stiff as new. In a stack, kind of spread out. Also, they were smack-dab in the middle of a parking space. If somebody had parked there while I was inside for those few minutes, they would have needed to toss their losers under the car, to get them in that location, with the tickets landing in that neat array.
I never saw a car parked there. I was inside less than five minutes. The old man was already inside when I got there. Had he walked across that area, and the tickets fell out of his pocket? Did someone drive in and park there, just to throw out losing tickets? I have no idea where they came from, or if they were unscratched.
Here's the deal. Those scratchers were not meant for me. I'd bought my own scratchers inside, as planned. If I'd dropped mine while getting in T-Hoe, the first thing I'd do when I noticed would be to return to the parking lot, and look for them. Sure, I could have taken them inside if they were unscratched, and left them at the customer service desk just inside the door. But who's to say they would have kept them and not scratched them?
In retrospect, I wish I had at least picked them up to see if they were scratched. Skies were cloudy, and they might have been ruined if it rained. But I wouldn't have kept them. Whoever eventually discovered them more likely needed them worse than I did.
Those scratchers weren't meant for me. SHEESH! It's not like they were PENNIES!
I would have treated them as any lost money, if I did not see anyone around who may have dropped them, then why let someone else get them? If unscratched I would have taken them...but of course if I did, they would both be losers.
ReplyDeleteIf I hadn't just seen an old man buying scratchers from the machine, I might have been more likely to pick them up. I thought of how disappointed I'd be if I'd lost my scratchers.
DeleteI admire your restraint but still . . .
ReplyDeleteOh well, joeh has it right.
I also thought maybe it was a trick. What if somebody stuck them down with gum. Like using glue on floor quarters, or attaching fishing line to a purse. OR, what if I toppled over while bending to pick them up!
DeletePicking them up to check is the first thing I'd do, then maybe I'd hand them in, or more likely I'd walk around a bit to see if the old man was still around and if not I'd put them in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteThey were free for the taking. I didn't see any people around. The cars were still the same ones, in the same places, as when I went inside. But I didn't feel like those tickets were meant for me.
DeleteI would have picked them up and had know Idea if they were winners.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you could have found a child to explain them. That's what I do for electronics, ask a kid.
DeleteYou scratch numbers to see if they match, OR you can only scratch the bar code at the bottom, because the Missouri lottery has an app for scanning tickets.
Oh, the temptation! You were right to leave them, or turn them in. Even Steven is always lurking around the corner.
ReplyDeleteI was curious, but not really tempted. That's how I know they weren't meant for me.
Delete