Lucky Day

Lucky Day



There was a long line at Target
I simply wanted a soft drink, so I got in line for one
Suddenly, this lady walks towards me and asks:
“Would you like a soda cup? I bought a combo, and I have
An extra one.” Hell yes! Lady you don't know how much I
Abhor waiting in lines; thank you so very much!

I was genuinely thrilled by her kindness; and I sat to read a free copy of The Los Angeles Times -- someone had left abandoned. I thought, wow how lucky did I get today? Then it dawned on me that I had saved a dollar and change, which is what I gave to a homeless man earlier that day! This was not simple coincidence! As I read the news of the day…I fell in conversation with an old man.

I asked him what he thought of the former Arch Bishop, who is now the President of Paraguay, who is said to have fathered a couple -- perhaps more -- children. He shook his head from side to side; I could tell he was a die hard Catholic. I delved into the hypocrisy of the clergy, or that of the macho men mentality of most Latin American countries. For instance, I said, Alan Garcia’s waning popularity surged, when it came to light he had a son, product of an extramarital affair.

He shook his head and laughed, at the stage of his life, he’d seen enough to know human nature. Meanwhile, my attention was divided by the arrival of a woman with luxurious red hair, clutching a bag containing one bread. She was not unattractive, except when one focused on her frontal missing teeth when ever she opened her mouth to converse. After chatting with a friend…

She ambled to the trash bin and dived her hand in to rescue an empty soft drink cup. She shook it for a bit; and unfazed, she filled it to the brim . As I was slurping my Coke, I thought that although one should adhere to an honor code, not everyone chose to honor it. It could be as trivial as not paying for a soda cup, and as serious as breaking an oath to God. This reduces one to the moral structure of a jelly fish.

Shit, I live with self- imposed celibacy, while the Arch Bishop fucked around. Yet, in truth, when I get around to it, I'll probably overcompensate, three times in a day. As I read of the high death rate in Mexico due to the swine flu, I realized I am indeed very lucky. I had, had a free soft drink cup and newspaper that day, while I did not have to wait impatiently in line. And I was also almost getting over my cold. I did feel extremely lucky -- and grateful.





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