What Goes Around

Thought for the Day:  I saw that. [Karma]

We're all works in progress, which means even though we may strive to be kinder and more forgiving, there's a slim possibility we might also possibly smirk a teensy bit when we see the jackass who's been honking his horn and flipping off everyone as he weaves through traffic at a rate just under the speed of light sitting at the side of the road in front of the flashing blue lights of a police car. Not that we wish any real harm to the guy, mind you. But he DID have it coming...

While it isn't a good idea or very nice to exact revenge on other people, I think most of us derive a certain amount of satisfaction when the bad guys get caught, the cheaters get dumped, and the one who broke your heart gets his broken into pieces. (♪♫ and that's when you'll discover that revenge is sweet, when I sit there applauding from a front row seat...♫ ♪)

Today's post is loosely based on a story someone told me years ago...

After gal pals Martha and Mary spent hours on end shopping, they decided to go to a nearby cafeteria for a much-needed rest and a bite to eat.

In the parking lot outside the restaurant, they spotted a dead rat lying on the ground.

"Poor thing," Martha said. "We can't just leave him there. What should we do?"

"I know!" Mary said. She pulled one of her bags from the trunk and emptied its contents into another bag. Then she carefully wrapped the rat in tissue paper and lowered him gently into the empty bag. "I'll bury him when I get home."

It was a very hot day, and the ladies didn't want to stink up the car by putting the burial bag into the trunk, so they decided to let it air out on top of the car while they went into the restaurant.

From their window-side table, they watched a well-dressed woman stroll nonchalantly past the car while obviously checking out the bag. Then she doubled back, snatched the bag and kept on walking.

"Did you SEE that? What nerve!" Martha said, shaking her head.

Mary laughed. "Yeah, but just wait until she opens that bag!"

The ladies were still laughing (Wouldn't YOU?) when our self-satisfied thief ambled into the restaurant with the bag still firmly gripped in her hand. After she went through the line, she settled at a nearby table, put the bag on an empty chair and began to eat. She took a few bites of her food and then casually lifted the bag into her lap to check out her treasure. From a few tables away, Martha and Mary could barely contain themselves as she pulled out the tissue paper and happily peered into the bag with a look of great anticipation on her face.

Her eyebrows raised, her eyes opened wide, and she made a sound somewhere between a blood-curdling scream and a fish-out-of-water gasp. The bag slid from her lap and she sank to the floor, wheezing and clutching her chest. A cafeteria worker sent the busboy to call 911, while she helpfully administered an unneeded, but highly energetic, Heimlich maneuver on the horrified woman.

The ambulance arrived, and despite her protests, the hapless rat burglar was strapped to a gurney and rolled out the door.... with the bag, which one of the EMTs so kindly picked up when he gathered her belongings, perched on her stomach.

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.