I went out to pick up a few things at the grocery store and got in the slow line. There seemed to be some problem with a little gray haired lady trying to swipe her visa card for three bags of groceries. The bank was playing hardball, and kept refusing the charge with an "over limit " message for the poor lady. So she was unpacking things from her bags, setting them aside, and having the clerk re-ring to get a lower total. Yet each time the bank refused the charge, a moment of real embarrassment for the poor woman. The clerk was rolling her eyes, feeling pressure from the line forming. The bagger was standing there watching the woman sorting through her groceries to try and get her total down. It was a scene that has probably played itself out in thousands of stores across the nation in these hard economic times, now that credit is so tight. People are stretched thin--right to the edge of those maxed out credit cards.
Well, I couldn't bear this, so I took out my wallet and asked the lady if she needed a little help today, and told her "these things always happen when you least expect them," to try and relieve the embarassment. She thanked me, but would not accept my offer to pay--pride always going before the fall, I suppose. Instead she went over to the store phone and tried to haggle with her bank in the busy market. That got her nowhere, so she told the clerk that she was just going to "forget this whole thing," and left.
The checker said it was very nice of me to offer help, even if it was not received. And though my offer did not cure the problem, I was still glad I had the compassion to open my mouth instead of standing there like a wooden Indian, trying not to notice., like everyone else in line. On the way home I could not help but think of Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, and BofA, all awash in billions of free taxpayer dollars. Their "get tough" policies concerning credit these days are perhaps a way to vent steam over losing the battle in congress against the credit card reform bill that passed recently. Now they are girding themselves to oppose reforms in the derivatives markets. They'll spend millions and millions in that effort, all to ensure their profits, those $28,000 office carpets, and the lucrative bonus money that is still being paid out to men who engineered and furthered the greatest financial crisis in a century with their incompetence and simple greed.
But this cold hearted system could not approve a $40. grocery tab for a hungry old woman, so she left without her yogurt, and oatmeal, and the other things she was pulling out of the paper bags to try and lower her tab. I passed a moment of anger over this on my way home, but realized that the only real and human thing I could do about it was to open my mouth and extend that helping hand to another in distress. This is what Buddha meant when he talked about "joyful participation in the sorrows of the world." Now I'm no saint, just a guy who can't bear to think of anyone going hungry. There are going to be so many more who find themselves "over limit" before this recession ends. What are we going to do about it?
Folks...We have to start taking care of one another if this thing is ever to turn around. If you are holding your breath for the resurrection of GM, or hopng that re-fi money will start flowing again any time soon, you are in for a sad disappointment. The recovery will have to start on the street with us, one person at a time finding hope and moving forward. We can't do the big things to turn this around, but we can do the little things, help where we can, and just hope for the best.
Well, I couldn't bear this, so I took out my wallet and asked the lady if she needed a little help today, and told her "these things always happen when you least expect them," to try and relieve the embarassment. She thanked me, but would not accept my offer to pay--pride always going before the fall, I suppose. Instead she went over to the store phone and tried to haggle with her bank in the busy market. That got her nowhere, so she told the clerk that she was just going to "forget this whole thing," and left.
The checker said it was very nice of me to offer help, even if it was not received. And though my offer did not cure the problem, I was still glad I had the compassion to open my mouth instead of standing there like a wooden Indian, trying not to notice., like everyone else in line. On the way home I could not help but think of Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, and BofA, all awash in billions of free taxpayer dollars. Their "get tough" policies concerning credit these days are perhaps a way to vent steam over losing the battle in congress against the credit card reform bill that passed recently. Now they are girding themselves to oppose reforms in the derivatives markets. They'll spend millions and millions in that effort, all to ensure their profits, those $28,000 office carpets, and the lucrative bonus money that is still being paid out to men who engineered and furthered the greatest financial crisis in a century with their incompetence and simple greed.
But this cold hearted system could not approve a $40. grocery tab for a hungry old woman, so she left without her yogurt, and oatmeal, and the other things she was pulling out of the paper bags to try and lower her tab. I passed a moment of anger over this on my way home, but realized that the only real and human thing I could do about it was to open my mouth and extend that helping hand to another in distress. This is what Buddha meant when he talked about "joyful participation in the sorrows of the world." Now I'm no saint, just a guy who can't bear to think of anyone going hungry. There are going to be so many more who find themselves "over limit" before this recession ends. What are we going to do about it?
Folks...We have to start taking care of one another if this thing is ever to turn around. If you are holding your breath for the resurrection of GM, or hopng that re-fi money will start flowing again any time soon, you are in for a sad disappointment. The recovery will have to start on the street with us, one person at a time finding hope and moving forward. We can't do the big things to turn this around, but we can do the little things, help where we can, and just hope for the best.
