When Hick the do-gooder bestows favors upon people, he seems to be rewarded tenfold. Not that I begrudge Hick his good fortune. I, too, do nice things for people. Sometimes it results in coins strewn in my path, after I enable people by paying for their 10:00 a.m. liquor, or their vapes. Sometimes nothing. And sometimes, it seems as if I would be better off NOT doing a good deed.
Saturday, I walked into the Gas Station Chicken Store with two scratcher winners clutched in my old-lady hands. A man was coming up the aisle from the soda fountain. It was a dead heat to the register.
"Go ahead."
"No, you go ahead. I have lottery, so it might take a minute."
"All right. Thank you."
This Dude had a 32 oz fountain soda, and a snack. As he set them on the counter, he asked for two packs of cigarettes. The little cashier gal had to ask his age. He was 38. Plenty old enough to buy tobacco products, but the boss was hovering around, and I think the policy is to ask if you look under 40. Anyhoo... then she had to ask more about his brand of cigarettes, to make sure she got the right kind. Then he went to pay, and said,
"OH! I have to run back to my car. I'm so sorry. I left my card out there."
"Did you have gas?"
"No. I'll be right back. Sorry."
Off went This Dude, running out the door. The little cashier gal raised her eyebrows at me.
"If I'd known THIS..."
"I hope you weren't in a hurry today!"
"No. I'm never in a hurry."
[Which doesn't mean my knees enjoy standing for prolonged periods.]
This Dude returned, apologizing some more, and scanned his card to pay for his snack, soda, and cigarettes. He thanked us for our patience, and left.
I cashed in $45 of winners. And later discovered I'd won $45. I guess my niceness was rewarded with breaking even. Although I had to cool my heels a while to do it.
At least he was polite and thankful. That's a bit rare some days.
ReplyDeleteYes, I bear him no ill will. People forget things. And he DID offer to let me go ahead of him. I was trying to be nice, so as not to take up HIS time with my lottery-picking. It's THE UNIVERSE that conspires against me!
DeleteWhy do people leave their card in their car? It's not like he didn't know he would be asked to pay for his merchandise. My mother was notorious for going out to eat and waiting until we got seated to announce that she had forgotten her teeth. My sweet Daddy would jum up and returen home to get her teeth. So many directions to go with this, such as why she didn't have her teeth in her mouth, but she knew where we were going and that she would be in a chewing situation. You would assume that anyone with false teeth who were apt to take them out frequently would have a little check-list in their head as they got into the vehicle. I often suspected that she did it intentionally for attention. Yes, I know that sounds mean, but you didn't know my mother!
ReplyDeleteMy card is always in my shirt pocket. It's handy to grab in the grocery store. Also, I have it in case I run out of cash for gas, or forget a winning scratcher after already asking for more. I've never had to use it for such, but it's there.
DeleteHeh, heh! I've never heard of anyone forgetting their teeth when going out to eat! Bless your sweet Daddy for going to fetch them.