It was a reminder of what is best about our nation and what’s bad about me. I honestly had forgotten whose turn it was to buy breakfast. In my defense, it was a bit of a grey area — I bought last time but all Steve had was a muffin.
Last time Steve paid, I put an omelette, a cup of Joe and a pound of Sumatra coffee beans on his open tab. If I did not stop to make a phone call just before I entered the diner, we could have each pleaded our case of who should pay. As it were, he had already given his credit card to the server and told her I was on the dole.
Now granted, my weaseling a free breakfast burrito is no reflection of the greatness of our nation. I’ll get to that after I’m done eating my burrito. After I ordered my breakfast, Steve said, “I forgot if it was my turn or not.
” I did not wish to argue so I answered, “Pretty sure it was your turn.” I lingered over breakfast waiting for the library to open; there was a person there I probably was going to annoy. We have an awesome local library/movie theater made possible by public tax dollars, and many private as well as corporate donations.
(For those curious of who to thank, there is a plaque in front listing names and organizations of all who donated.) One positive aspect of living in an often- crowded tourist community is the revenue generated can be spent on programs benefitting those workers, families and retirees whose efforts and donations help the community function. At our local library, you can no.
