Well, it was my cup. I had just finished up a meeting accompanied by a tall coffee and a grande ice water chase when I proceeded to exit the store and toss my clear plastic cup into the industrial green trashcan sitting on the curbside.
As I released the cup and took a few steps away I thought to myself, "Iʻm still kind of thirsty." The sun was shining in its mid-day SoCal sort of way and another grande ice water sounded rather delicious. But now my cup was in the public trashcan. Enter a quick mini debate in my head and I resolved to turn back to the can and retrieve my cup rather than use another one only for it to eventually meet the same fate as the first.
As I turned and approached the green canister sitting smugly on the curb, a car pulled into the space directly in front of the receptacle and offered a challenge to my mission of retrieval. The woman driving the car looked at me curiously through the windshield of her black BMW and I stood frozen in a moment of indecision trying to find my cup with my eyes.
She didnʻt see me toss my cup in. What will she think if I reach in and pull one out?
I went for it. The cup was a way down requiring quite a bit of lean and stretch. I think the woman was closer than the cup. She was not amused.
It was an interesting exchange of life and an experience for me as I was looked at through the lens of a better than. I was ʻthat personʻ who fishes out of the waste of others. And now I stood in front of her in line en route to a refill for as someone who didnʻt buy anything in the first place.
I actually didnʻt mind.
It kind of felt like she did.
2 comments:
Who the fuck cares?
Apparently not you Anonymous but thank you for contributing your thoughts :)
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