In anticipation of the nearly Absolute Zero temperature out in the parking lot I thought I'd go start my car and then come back in where it's warm. I shut down the laptop and left it there at my table in my backpack. When I re-entered the store I walked around and looked at books for a few minutes. My God, there are so many good ones waiting to be bought! Admittedly, I got a bit distracted.
Imagine my reaction though, when I finally walked back into the Starbucks area, and while still a ways off… looked over to see one of the barista girls reaching into the top part of my backpack, taking out my wallet, and sort of… looking through it.
I was stunned. In fact, my initial reaction was a sort of embarrassment for her, coupled with a thought in my head [real loud] that could be verbalized as "What in the frigging hell are you doing?" I just sort of stood there a bit, and then approached her. She looked up and said, "Oh! Is this yours?"
Before I could even respond, these two elderly ladies sitting at an adjacent table piped up and said, "We told her to check because we thought maybe there was a bomb in there."
What? A bomb? Now I was really confused -- but at the same time, I laughed. These two ladies had sat down while I was browsing books, and seeing an abandoned backpack, immediately went to the Starbucks people and said it looked suspicious, or something.
So I began explaining that I had just left it there to go and start my car outside to let it warm up -- and now all three of these females were berating me for leaving valuables behind like that. I had never really given it a second thought, I guess. One of the ladies then asked me if my car was LOCKED as it idled outside, and I said, "Nope!"
They gave me this look like I had just arrived on planet Earth from Mars or something.
*****
3 comments:
Yup, I'd say you are a bit too trusting. Students are always leaving their bags and laptops unattended in the library where I work and it drives campus security nuts because inevitably every semester one or two people get their stuff stolen. We also start our car and let it warm up a bit when it is really cold out which has been a lot this winter. We have two keys so we can lock the car while it warms up. Lots of people don't do that and the news has been reporting an increase in car thefts this winter. So be careful!
Holy smoke!! Wayyyy too trusting! I did laugh at the part about a bomb in your bag, though.
The second you were gone I'm positive one of the older ladies said something about you probably being a bachelor...!
C.
I agree, girls. I guess I just think no one is going to steal anything, because I wouldn't.
I think it's funny though when people will ask someone at another table to "watch their stuff" while they go away somewhere. How do they know that is the very person that is a kleptomaniac?
[On a totally other topic now, that word that starts with a "k", above, doesn't it seem it should be a "c"?]
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