Do the Right Thing

Here's a bit of a morality tale for ya. Of course, I'm not exactly sure what the moral is...

Sunday night, I had tickets for the Louis C.K. tour, Word. Louis is one of my all-time faves and I was very excited. That said, I really could not afford, right now at this very moment, to be spending a high-end evening in Boston.

I wound up for dinner at PF Changs because it's predictable and generally pretty quick. Unless, of course, the place is overcrowded and understaffed.

I found a seat at the bar, ordered dinner right away and then opened my book. Several minutes later, I heard my cellphone ring and I leaned over to see who was calling.

Looking down, I saw a folded pile of bills lying on the floor. I could have easily picked it up, pocketed it and made the night a profitable evening. But I just couldn't.

I picked it up and interrupted the couple next to me. "Excuse me, is this yours?" The man guessed correctly at the amount, so I assumed it had to be his. He thanked me and offered to buy me a drink. "No," I said, "There shouldn't be a reward for doing the right thing."

It felt like the right thing to do/say. Until I heard that very same couple bitching about their wait and how the restaurant should cover their theater tickets and how they would never eat at a PF Changs again and who was the manager and they would definitely be letting corporate know that this branch was disorganized and lacked in customer service and...

The ex-waitress in me really wanted to smack them upside the head. The yogini in me wished they had paid my offering forward. The human in me wanted to tell them to get over themselves and go to hell.

Who would have thunk doing the right thing could be quite so complicated?

Here's hoping karma keeps track of these little bits and bobs...