This is ohio and this is january. This means snow. This doesn't mean that people have to enjoy it, nor does it mean that they need to stay out in it any longer than necessary, either.
Me, personally, I like to say that I'm bigger than the weather since I'm not usually affected by the temperature. I rarely wear anything more than my hoodie and a wool cap (and mittens when I am cleaning off my car). I don't much see the sense in bundling up just to walk from a building to my car or from my car to a building. If I plan on being outside for an extended period of time, I'll dress accordingly (being sure to wear layers, of course).
The background that the last two paragraphs provide is central to an exchange with a random stranger that I had today.
I pulled into the parking lot of giant eagle (a grocery chain, for those of you not local) and got out of my car. It has been snowing the last couple days and the temperature had dropped significantly. As I closed my car door, I noticed a woman a few years older than my mom emptying her groceries from her cart into the trunk of her car. I quickly looked around an noticed that there was no cart corral anywhere close to her. The plaza that houses the giant eagle is an older plaza and parking spots are at a premium, so the corrals are few and far between.
Since there was no corral anywhere near her and it was cold, and snowing, I asked if I could give her a hand emptying her cart, so I could take the cart into the store (since I was heading that way anyway, might as well save her a trip, and carts floating around a parking lot are a pet peeve of mine. Well, the carts aren't. The lazy fuckers who leave them there are). She accepted my offer, so I grabbed a couple bags, placed them in her trunk and then reached to grab the last two bags. As I turned to place those two into her trunk, she reached into her purse and offered me a dollar.
I told her that I couldn't possibly take her money, it was my pleasure to help her. She insisted, saying "please". I refused, saying "I couldn't".
She became adamant, saying "Just take it" and stuffed it into the pocket of my hoodie.
I grabbed the dollar bill out of my pocket threw it at her and pushed her down into the snow and said "bitch, I told you I couldn't take it."
ok, that part didn't really happen.
When I reached into my hoodie pocket, I realized that she probably thought I worked there. I told her "ma'am, I don't work here, I only offered to take the cart to save you a trip and that my mother would beat me if she knew that I didn't offer to save you a trip".
She was perfectly happy with that explanation and I was perfectly happy with letting her keep her dollar.
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