Hi Everyone,
There are just some things I can’t make up. This is what I mean.
For anyone who doesn’t know I have a very part-time retail job. Most of my hours entail my working on cash. There is never a dull moment. Like this one day an above average dressed man walked up to me as I was ringing someone through and yelled, “There is a man sitting in the window sniffing from a can!”
With all of the usual noises I couldn’t hear what he said and asked him to repeat himself. He did. But he was unhappy about it. Although the customer in front of me was in a hurry they were understanding of my situation. “Is the man in the store?” I asked. The man said something. “Is the man inside?” I asked again. When I could see him walk to the back of the store, I looked at the front window before I gave up. Under the circumstances, it was all I could do.
Shortly after that a panhandler, who I have seen in front of a neighbouring establishment for almost a year, walked in dragging a man by his coat collar. The man being held against his will looked happier than anyone I saw in months. The panhandler, however, was angry and scared. You know when you see a cartoon with his eyes bugging out and they have that messed up look on their face? Well, that was what the panhandler looked like. He was also dirty, disheveled and drunk. Some might think he looked crazy while others would say he was. Either way he pushed the man in front of him as he pushed his way into the line.
“Don’t sell him anything in a can!” He screamed at me. “I had to stop him from sniffing an aerosol can! Don’t sell him anything he can sniff! I mean it! Don’t sell him anything he can sniff!” he continued screaming as he shook the man he was holding. And then the panhandler pulled the man out of the line and dragged him out of the store. The supposed can sniffer still looked happy.
When they left, I called a supervisor, told them what happened and said, “You know I can’t stop anyone from doing something, A customer could buy a coat hanger for their coat or to hold their muffler onto their car. If they buy duct tape who is to say they aren’t going to tape someone’s mouth instead of holding something together.” Luckily, they agreed with me.
At some point a very happy man came to my register and slid me his purchase. It was an aerosol can. He was smiling. “Were you in the store earlier with another man?” I asked. “Pardon,” he asked. “Never mind,” I said. “Would you like a bag?”
Since there was not a lot I could do, I have a few suggestions for people who could do something. One is call the police. If you don’t have a cell phone, someone else, like the other people with you or sharing the sidewalk will. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. If you don’t want to, or for some (bizarre) reason you can’t call the police because you, like the panhandler are drunk and don’t want to be charged or have some outstanding legal issues, keep walking. Yep! You read that correctly. Keep walking. How you want to hold your head is your decision.
Hold it up, down, stare at your phone, the other side of the street, whatever. People ignore larger, more severe crimes than someone sniffing, huffing a can all the time. If you don’t want to get involved, you are not alone. And hey who is to say that you see what is going on right in front of you. I miss things all the time! Other times I see something but don’t really know what people are doing and could not be bothered to find out. Sometimes I want to stay in my world. Those are things we could all do. Running up the closet cashier of a busy store to tell her about a crime being committed on city property when there were other options was not and is not the most productive.
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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