Seaweed, Behavior Arbiter

And because I haven't shown the spiritual growth that I would like to be able to show . . . 

There was a group of people on the boat that I didn't like particularly if by "didn't like" you mean "detested."  These were the people that bitched continuously about tipping while dressing up in elaborate costumes for dinner.  On the boat.  Where there was no one there except other similar people.

I was at a gift shop that was stationed right after one of the little handicrafts workshops that we visited.  One of these women had some items she wanted to purchase.

"Eight dollars," said the little man behind the counter, smiling broadly.

"I'll give you five," she said.

"No, ma'am," he replied, smile in place.  "Eight dollars."

She took seven dollars out of her purse, laid them on the counter, and grabbed the items.  The man continued to smile.

"Eight dollars, ma'am," he said.

I took a dollar out of my purse and gave it to the guy.

The woman glared at me.  "It was never eight dollars," she said, forgetting, apparently, that I was standing right there the whole time.  Then she mumbled something about fifty cents and gave the man a buck.

"But thank you," she said to me.

"I thought you didn't have the right change," I said.

Needless to say I didn't talk to her the rest of the trip.

The thing is that this was really not my business.  It's not up to me to be the arbiter of someone else's behavior, no matter how deplorable it is, so I didn't feel that great about what I did.  I felt a little too smug as if I'm a great example of good behavior.

Still glad I did it, the bitch.