Today I was at the bookstore having coffee and browsing through a collection of interesting books when a curious thing happened. A pile of change had fallen out of someone's pocket and landed on the seat opposite me. We scooped it onto the top of the table and continued reading our books. I was going to put it into the tips jar, but took the books back to their shelves first, and when I returned a fellow from the next table was reaching over, scraping the money into his hand, and then he pocketed it! His friend just watched him. I was stunned speechless. He quickly got up and left the area, and his friend followed a couple of minutes later.
So I thought of several things: Did he need the money? If so, okay. Why didn't he ask if it was ours? Was he just larcenous, taking whatever he wanted whenever he saw it? I can't imagine reaching over onto someone else's table and taking money from it. Is this a lack of imagination on my part? Is this the new "normal?" And why was I so silent? Why couldn't I think of anything to say? Human beings continue to surprise me, not always in a good way.
Maybe I have put too much emphasis on this. Maybe it means nothing more than a young fellow putting a dollar's worth of change in his pocket, taking something that seems to be up for grabs.
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