Monday, August 8, 2011

Spare a Quarter

As I walked to the 7-Eleven in this ungodly heat, I passed by an assumably homeless man standing by the pay phone.  He did not say anything to me as I pushed the stroller past him to the Redbox machine.  I needed to return the movie we had kept one day longer than planned.  As I walk past the man again to leave, he muttered, "Spare a quarter?"  I pretended not to hear him.  As I walked home, I thought. 
I should take that $2 spent on the Redbox movie and give it to the man.  I can help a man out.  I should do my part.  I instead kept the $2 and walked home.  I've been reading about how to use money for origami.  I can make an intricate fish, or a jacket.  Undoubtedly, however, it will purchase us a night of a Redbox rental, and one day of forgetting to bring it back.   

The pinkeye.

I took my daughter to the doctor last week because she was very congested.  Because the whites of her eyes were very white, I was in denial of any conjunctivitis.  The pediatrician said, "Yeah, she's got it.  And she's highly contagious.  So should you get it..."  Oh, I won't get that.  It's been a week and nothing.  
Yesterday, my eyes began to ache.  It must be allergies.  Denial continues.  I took a nap in the afternoon to awake with my eyes swollen shut.  I could not open them.  I flailed around to get to the bathroom for a warm washcloth.  I looked in the mirror.  It was worse than I thought.