Day 26

My friends would probably say that I'm nice...to a fault.  But today, I really had to question what's going on with humanity these days.

Before work, I stopped at the gas station near my house.  I got a coffee, $15 worth of gas, and a pack of Pall Mall Blue 100s.  When the cashier rang me up, I noticed the total was only about $17.
Now, Indiana cigarettes are way cheaper than Chicago cigarettes, but not THAT cheap.  So I asked the cashier if she included the cigarettes in the total and she confirmed that she did.

I was on pump #10, so then I thought to myself "Perhaps she thought I said $10, not 'Pump 10'."  That would make sense.  So I went to the pump and started filling up. 

Clunk.  The pump stopped.  $15. 

I pulled the receipt out of the trash can to double check.  Unfortunately it didn't list the items I'd purchased, only the total.  But I knew better.  There was no way she'd charged me for the smokes.

So, I went inside with the pack, and asked the cashier if she was SURE she'd charged me for the smokes.  Sure enough, she'd forgotten.

What happened next kind of blew my mind.

She started thanking me profusely.  You'd think I'd saved her kitten from the jaws of a renegade sewer croc. 

To me, it just made sense:  pay for the cigarettes.  But then I realized that maybe some people wouldn't have tried to rectify the mistake.   I'm not perfect. At all. There have been times when I didn't notice that I was undercharged, or trying to go back and set things straight in a similar situation wasn't a possibility...(not to mention the random moments of debauchery or less-than-ideal behavior peppered throughout my life.  And I swear like a trucker...it's true.)...

... but the way that cashier thanked me this morning, it just made me think...is honest and kind behavior the exception these days?  I really, really hope not.