Don't tell me you don't remember me becuase I sure as heckfire remember you!
It’s funny how certain things stick with you even when they probably shouldn’t. Small insignificant events can nag at your brain and you have to wonder, why?
It was Wednesday morning. My commute was all but over with just two stops left. I switched over to a seat with a table and he sat across from me. He was what we, in the financial accounting business, would call a hot-mess. He missed a button on his shirt and his hair screamed before-picture. He left his laptop bag and coat on his seat and got up to, presumably, use the choo-choo-loo. He also left a takeaway coffee cup on the table between us.
My nose was deep into Catch-22, but I can’t lie: I saw the man with the plastic bag and eerily near transparent blue gloves come through the car (he is a character for another post, by the way). He grabbed newspapers and other rubbish and made his way to our little spot. He took the coffee, and I didn’t stop him.
Needless to say the hot-mess came back and made that where-the-bloody-hell-did-my-cup-of-coffee-go face. When he finally released the tension in his shoulders, he looked at me and all I could say was “the man took it.”
I didn’t apologize, but I should have. I thought prevention when it happened, but I didn’t act. I could have saved his cup from the bag, but I didn’t. It’s a small thing, a cup of coffee, I know. Get over it. But we have to look out for each other – all of us, including the hot-messes we cross insignificant paths with because some days, and we all have them, the loss of our morning cup could be just the trigger to ruin our day.
With a finite calendar for each of us, who needs that?
Categories: Rambling
eternal Domnation 
HA! My cup of coffee taken away would have def ruined my day, but the way I see it? If he had needed it that badly (like I do), he’d have taken the damn thing with him. Life is a continuous learning process, and there was his lesson. See? Guilt absolved.
Love it! And I agree 🙂 thank you for leaving a comment!!!
Am I wrong in thinking that you’re trying to use the phrase “bloody hell” in every single blog post from now on? 🙂
Once you start it is pretty darn hard to stop! Thank you for noticing!!!
Yes, I suppose it is, bloody hell!
Your daily train ride give you great writing material 🙂
🙂 If you only knew the half of it. There are some incredible characters on my train – the ones that I see everyday are really starting to come alive in my imagination. I picture a story where they all get off at different stops but end up in the same place. What could bring such different people, from diferent sides of the tracks, to the same wonderful place?
Don’t be too hard on yourself: you didn’t make up some lame excuse. Hot-mess guy could be forgiven for assuming you were so absorbed in your reading you noticed too late, but that is all his assumption. And at least you care!
Thank you Kato Writes! It’s true, sometimes I am too hard on myself. I am guilt driven, at times, and that needs to stop! It’s just a cup of coffee!!!
Gah, I know that feeling, when you know you should have intervened but for some reason your brain just freezes and stops you for doing something. But hey, a lot of people wouldn’t have even realised there was something wrong with that, or wouldn’t have cared. And with that in mind at least you can stop it next time it happens!
Catch 22 is a pretty good distraction too 😛
My brain tends to freeze quite often. Just like the time when.
Hahaha, that actually made me laugh out quite loud then! 😛