I don't know his real name so let's call him "Ali Baba". I go to a clinic and today I went there in vain because I did not have an appointment. Someone called me on the phone from the clinic and told me that my appointment was switched from next Monday to this Monday. So I went without confirming. I went in and was told that my appointment was not switched. So someone making prank calls! So my mother dropped me off and drove away so I was all alone. I called my mother on her cell but she did not answer. So I called my father and he tried to call my mother but she did not answer. She must have been in a dead zone where her cell does not have service. So I told my father that I would get a cup of coffee to pass the hour instead of waiting outside of the clinic in the summer heat.

As I walked to the closest deli I passed a bum and he asked me directions. "Do you know where the nearest ѕуηαgσgυє is?" I said I didn't know, but that there are a lot in Kew Gardens. He said he didn't know that area, so I said I could not help him. Then I went in to the deli.

I had an empty bottle of water and stores are supposed to give a nickel back for water bottles returned to the store. I went up to "Ali Baba" and said, "Can I get a nickel for this bottle?" And he said "No!" So I said "But then you will lose my business. Don't you want my business?" And he said "No!" Imagine that. "Ali Baba" doesn't want my business! What a fool. I was going to take money out of the ATM machine which charges a 1.75 dollar fee and buy a cup of coffee for 1.50. That would be 3.25 worth of business, though I don't know how much of it would be profit. So because he did not want to give me 5 cents he lost 3.25 (though perhaps it would have been only 1.00 of profit). So assuming a profit of 1.00, by refusing me the nickel due to me he lost 20 nickels, 1 dollar, 20 fold. How can such a fool stay in business? I was angry so I cursed him rashly (but not to his face). I said "His store is going to burn to the ground." And then I checked myself and ask forgiveness of God for wishing my brother ill. But then I thought, "He is going to go out of business." What happened to "the customer is always right?" I do hope he goes out of business and is replaced by better owners. And the owners of my local deli sold me watered down milk the other day. They are also Arabs. I don't think it is because they are Arabs, but because they are probably not Catholics but Muslims.

So then I went to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. On the way I saw a bum lying on the sidewalk so I left him my bottle for him so he could get the nickel. They take debit cards at Dunkin Donuts so I did not need to go to an ATM for cash. "Hadji" welcomed me (the Dunkin Donuts in my area are all run by Indians and have all Indian staff) and took my order. I ordered five donut holes and a cup of coffee.When they gave me my order I found out that they were generous. They gave me 7 and a half donut holes for the price of 5. I know that they did not take food back once it is given to the customer so I thought I would eat the 5 I had ordered and give the other 2 and a half to the bum I gave the bottle to.

I ate in peace and looked at the other customers. I like watching people, especially women because as a man I love women as figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then I noticed the garbage can. It was a mess. There was a recycle bin and a garbage can and they were both overflowing. For some reason the staff never went out to empty the garbage and it was piled up far beyond it's capacity and was a big mess. So I laughed and laughed. After I finished eating I threw out my garbage, some in the recycle bin and some in the garbage can, and left with my cup of coffee, but before I left I asked "Hadji" for a single napkin and he told me where they were. I put the napkin in the paper bag that held the 2 and a half donut holes so that the bum would have something to clean his hands with after he had eaten.

When I looked for the bum he was not there and neither was the bottle. Well that mission was accomplished, but now I had food to get rid of. What to do? Luckily there were a number of other bums in the plaza near the subway station. So I crossed the street and looked at one of the bums. I made eye contact. I held up my bag, showed it to him, and put it down in the middle of the plaza. Then I caught his eye for a moment and then looked back at the bag and left. I let him know the food was for him. Then I walked away and waited outside the clinic for my mother who arrived a little late.

But imagine that! He does not want my business. And now I hope that he loses all of his business and is replaced with an owner who has a better heart. I hope the bums were happy with me and were grateful. It is not much, a nickel and a couple of donut holes, but I hope they were enjoyed. I had no cash on me to give any more.

Anyway, I am such a sinner.

Good advice, TKGS. I have a connection to you as your handle is T.K.G.S., The King's Good Servant, Saint Thomas More. He is my confirmation saint and my father is a lawyer and he is the patron saint of lawyers and the parish we used to go to when we visited my grandmother in Pennsylvania was named after Saint Thomas More, and when I wanted to be a writer as a college student who was an English major I chose a pen name for myself, Moore, after Saint Thomas, not the actress. My father has a big print of him in his home office the original of which is in the Frick, a museum in New York City where we live. Here is the photo. You know it, TKGS, but it is a beautiful painting for anyone who may not have seen it before. The painting look almost alive to me.