Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Don't pick that up!

A dime shined in the sun this morning as I turned the corner from my house headed to work.  A block later, there was a penny on the sidewalk.  Both are sitting in my back pocket in order to keep them separate from any change I might get from buying something.

As I approached Fulton Avenue, there was a lady walking a large bulldog.  He stopped to pee on a tree.  I passed the tree and noticed another penny laying right next to a puddle of fresh, hot, steamy dog urine.  I started to reach for it before coming to my senses and realizing that it probably wasn't a good idea.  That thought lead me to to think further about all of the money that I'm picking up off the street and that it probably has been peed on by a plethora of pooches, or at least a few of them.  I know that I wash my hands when I get to work and before meals, so I'm not all that concerned.  It seems funny to me, though, that I could be picking up really dirty money every day.

I doubt that picking up dirty money is significantly different than touching a door knob in Brooklyn.

Note to self, keep washing hands and make sure to buy good hand cream for winter.

I have 13 cents in my pocket so far today.  As I walk home, I'm still going to pick up money.  Funny thing, if I pass the tree where the dog peed and there is no pee, I won't remember and will probably pick that penny up anyway.

The lesson I take from this is that although there are opportunities around us every day that seem great, some of them have been tainted.  We don't have to accept every gift we are given.  Some of them are meant for others.  And sometimes, those "opportunities" are meant to stay right where they are and slowly get buried with debris over time to that someone years from now decides that they are good to pick up.

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