Reality Check

I was waiting for a friend of mine in front of the grocery store in the lower level of her office building today. I was a little early so I planted my ass down on a bench and settled in for some people watching. I love doing that.

I soon saw an old woman walk up to a trash bin and start picking through it. She was getting the receipts out of discarded grocery bags and putting them in her pocket. I assume she's planning on taking them back to the store, picking something off the shelf and trying to return it.

Then she picked through a little more and pulled out some McDonalds cups that still had pop in them. Next, she proceeded to take an empty plastic coke bottle out of her purse and pour the contents of the cups into it.

It made me feel a little sad to think that this could be someone's grandmother. She didn't look like a street person, but probably just got by day to day.

What made it even more interesting was another old, crouched over lady sat down on the bench beside her and started going through her purse. The thing was, when she bent down, her cheeks drooped forward a few inches and literally hung off her face. She was probably digging for almost 10 minutes. Old ladies and their purses - I will just never understand.

I really wished I'd had a camera to capture that moment. It was unique, to say the least.