A Few Pennies

I’ll tell you up front – this is going to be a rant!  I cannot believe that it is happening.  The first time I became aware of this practice was in Kearney, Nebraska.  In a restaurant.  At the Red Lobster, to be exact.  I don’t know if it was the practice of that local business or if it is a practice throughout the organization.  Then, it happened again, today, in a local restaurant that I frequent when I have an opportunity.  When you live from hand-to-mouth, every penny counts.

The situation is this.  I’d spent most of the morning at the South Denver Heart Center having a pre-op appointment for the procedure that I will have in one week – the WATCHMAN procedure.  I think I’ve told you that I have AFIB, and I’ve been advised by my cardiologist to have this procedure which significantly reduces my body’s opportunity to have a stroke. It DOES NOT cure the AFIB, but reducing the possibility of stroke is important.  After the appointment, I stopped at a local Mexican food restaurant to pick up a chicken, strawberry, avocado salad (my favorite meal from that restaurant).

The bill for my take-out meal was $7.93, and change given to me from my twenty-dollar bill was a ten dollar bill and a one dollar bill – no coins.  As I said, this happened once before in Kearney, Nebraska.  It was a couple of years ago, before COVID kept me from traveling through Kearney where I stop to see my journalist friend, Mary Jane.  We met at the Red Lobster, had a wonderful meal with a fabulous dessert, and I paid the bill.  I was talking with Mary Jane and paid little attention to the change returned to me from the bill’s I had used to pay for the meal.  I later realized that even though the bill’s total was not an even dollar amount, I’d received no coins as part of my change.  I did leave a tip for that waitress.  Mary Jane and I went on our way; I was headed for Wisconsin and headed east down I-80, the next morning.

I remember feeling cheated by the waitress.  I know that change of less than a dollar is not much.  I thought a lot about where that missing change went.  I had not been asked if I’d care to round the amount up to the next dollar which would go to their chosen charity.  Sister Clara says that some places in Texas, today, ask about the rounding it up thing.  It just was not in existence at the Nebraska restaurant.  Did the waitress pocket that little bit of change.  If so, how much extra does she make during a month by this practice?

Today, I think it was a case of “once bitten; twice shy.”  When I didn’t receive any coins as change, I asked about the missing coins – the seven cents in change.  It seemed to that the waitress grudgingly went to the penny container, retrieved the seven pennies, and gave them to me.  The next time I am at this restaurant, I will take the time to talk with the owner about this situation.  Albeit, the waitress was new, and I will find out if that is the policy of the restaurant.  And, depending on the answer, will decide whether or not I will return to the restaurant.

Oh, and did the waitress receive a tip, today?  No!

On a lighter side, enjoy the spring flowers from my yard.  We’ve had some rain to spur some growth and flowering, as the photographs will show.

In my yard, I have plants that butterflies and birds really like.  The mullein seed is a favorite of house wrens and other little birds.  It is really fun to watch the little birds hang onto the stalk to get their fill of seeds.  Butterflies really like the milk-weed-pod when it blooms.  It is very invasive, so I keep the number of plants to three or four – Larry’s allowed number for this plant.

Small white flowers at the base of the largest aspen tree in the front yard. I always wanted a grove of aspen in the front yard, but Larry was reluctant to let the aspen “babies” live.

So, I’ve started my aspen grove. So far, there are about six babies growing. I hope this is not a mistake. We’ll see.

Be Safe and Be Well

The Cranky Crone

Thoughtful comments are appreciated.