Five Dollar Karma

$5-----------

He was grateful.

He thanked me about a half-dozen times before hurriedly running off with his girlfriend's prescription. I expect he'll pay me back some day. I don't think any of the folks I've lent to thus far have been remiss in repayment. I also expect he didn't know that the gesture wasn't entirely altruistic- if I hadn't lent him the five bucks, I knew I would have had to deal with a bucketful of time-consuming hassle. And time to do my job right at work is scarcer than five dollar bills in my wallet. Sometimes throwing money at a problem does solve it.

$5------------

He was disappointed.

Or she. I'll never know who lost it. But it was too much not to miss. Someone must be sorry. Wouldn't it be fascinating to hold a bit of shabby, wrinkled, paper money in your fingers and be able to visualize where it's been? What it's bought? It looked like it might have been run over a few times before it caught my eye in the parking lot. Legal tender tenderized.

$5-------------

He was a dinosaur.

In front of the department store. Not a real dinosaur. A figurative one. Believe it or not, some fraternal organizations are still hanging in there, and this one was holding a fundraiser. The old men were wearing bright vests proclaiming their cause, and holding out collection cans. Like beggars. I usually don't give to beggars. Sometimes I give to buskers, but not to beggars. They'd do better to dun from me if they danced, or something. "The five dollars, Carla. You didn't earn it. Let it go." There were 2 five dollar bills in my wallet. The shabby one. I let it go.

$5-------------

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