only one man

I was at the local cash-only coffee shop this week and realized I was a dollar shy for my iced coffee. I quickly did the whole "Oh I've got a dollar in my car" routine, knowing I was late for work and would have to wait until the next day to pay my dues. All of a sudden, a grizzled old Cambridge lesbion thrust a dollar in the clerk's face and said she'd cover me. She even let me put six cents in the tip jar!

Man, that is community right there, that is the way things are meant to be. I vowed right then to do a good deed for someone else that day.

Of course, I am easily distracted by clouds and pie and bike couriers. My karmic balancing never worked out, though I had every intention of giving a muffin to the homeless. Then this happened the next morning when I checked my bank account online:
07/18/2007 Master Money Purchase DUNKIN DONUTS#301906 BOSTON MA $1.98 (-$1.75)

07/19/2007 Insufficient Funds Fee $38.00 (-$39.75)

That's right, I got a $38 overdraft fee for a two-dollar iced coffee. It just seems too perfect. The lesson, ladies and germs, is to Pay It Forward with a quickness. If the karma gods think you're dragging your heels, you'll get spanked immediately! (No there is no lesson here about poor money management.)

Related: Check out this crappy story I wrote in Wisconsin.