Some days the weirdos find me, and some days I have to seek them out. I entered the Gas Station Chicken Store on Saturday, and faced a line of unforgiving stares. Yes. I faced them, because nobody around here wears a mask. At least not in the GSCS. Not that it bothers me.
At first I thought it might be the High Horse Brigade that is monopolizing the county health center's Facebook page comments. But no. None of them were wearing masks, so that could not have been their beef with me. I suppose they thought I might be a line-jumper. It's not my fault that I had to cut between two of them to get to the soda fountain.
As I listened to the sweet, sweet gush of my magical elixir into my 44 oz cup, I saw a man in my peripheral vision, at the cooler on the back wall. He got a bottle of Pepsi, then walked behind me to the front, and stood where I usually stand to pay. But not today, because the grimacing line wound across the front of the store.
Since PepsiFella was browsing the whiskey selection, I figured he was still shopping. I went back around to the end of the grimacing line. I was 5th. When I was almost 2nd, the Gray Haired Aged Stringbean in front of me motioned for PepsiFella to go ahead of him. How magnanimous!
PepsiFella asked for a pint of whiskey. I think it was a pint. A flat bottle, but not the smallest one on the shelf. He used his card to pay. The Cashier Gal told him,
"That's going to be 33 cents more. Your card didn't have enough on it."
PepsiFella patted his pockets like people do, when they know they don't have enough, and they're figuring out how to handle the situation.
"Did you say 33 cents? I have a dollar in my pocket. Let me fish it out."
I had to set down my 44 oz Diet Coke on the counter, and dig out my wad of bills to get to it. But there it was. The dollar I usually spend on my magical elixir, but was not needed this day, as I was using an odd dollar from my scratcher winners, after purchasing The Pony three tickets that cost $3 each.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I've got it."
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome. I've done it myself. Come in without bringing my money."
"Really, thank you."
"No problem."
The cashier gave me back the change from my dollar.
"You know this will throw off my exact amount, right?"
"Heh, heh! I gave you back 73 cents."
"That's okay. I still have the right coins in my hand for my soda to come out even."
I guess she gave me my change from the dollar, plus whatever was in the found coins cup. I can't believe that guy who let PepsiFella ahead of him didn't pony up the money. I guess he figured he'd done his good deed already.
Funny how at my next stop, Country Mart, I found a dime and two pennies on the way in...
I hope I don't get a reputation for being THAT VAL who buys liquor for people. Seems like only 3 years ago that I gave a dollar to the 11:00 a.m. alcoholic in that very same store.
Sorry, but I am not buying liquor. I did give money to a woman at the PO who was fishing around for coins on the bottom of her purse.
ReplyDeleteI like coin-fishers! Sometimes I benefit from them!
DeleteI used to chip in when I was the checkout operator if someone was buying real food and maybe baby items and came up short. Supermarkets here don't sell alcohol, which is just as well, as I never would have chipped in for booze.
ReplyDeleteIt was only 33 cents. Maybe I was chipping in for his PEPSI!
DeleteLet the record show that I don't care if people donate or don't donate to customers who are a few cents short. That's a personal decision, like drinking, smoking, gambling, vegetarianism, having children, wearing leather, driving an electric car, etc. This makes me wonder what other situations might affect someone's generosity.
ReplyDeleteWould it matter if the person needing a few cents was young or old? Well-dressed or scruffy? Tattooed, or in a modest ethnic outfit? Wearing clothing with a certain religious or political logo? Buying prescription medication or birth control? Lobster or pasta? A child's toy or cigarettes?
If that person was buying cigarettes and didn't have enough money, I might suggest a smaller pack or a cheaper pack, but I'm not likely to chip in for smokes.
DeleteAfter finding out the price of your cigarettes over there, they seem like quite a luxury item! It would be like paying for somebody's lobsters for a big family dinner!
DeleteIt was worth 33 cents to get that line moving...short changers slow stuff down looking for the money.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It was only 33 cents. I can find that in two or three months on assorted parking lots!
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