CUL-DE-SAC

Sometimes you lose stuff and it’s like you weren’t even there. I was at the City Heights farmers market and one minute my wallet was in my pocket and the next minute it wasn’t. I retraced my steps and searched though the box of eggplant the Vietnamese sell. I checked the tables covered with chard where I bought two bunches from the Africans and then, of course, the watermelons at the Mexican stand.

City Heights Farmers Market. Photo by Sam Hodgson

I made a scene. By the end of it everyone knew I was looking for my wallet and the vendors asked me if I’d found it as I walked by them the third or fourth time. The pretty African girl I see at their stand every week — maybe she’s not African; talks like she goes to Hoover High — told me to talk to the market manager. Maybe it’ll turn up.

I had already picked out some stuff from the Mexican stand and couldn’t pay for it, but they told me to just take it home and pay them next week. I come by pretty much every week and they figure I’m good for it.

I left my name and phone number with the manager and, as I was headed home, I got a call on my cell. They found it. I returned, and saw all of the credit cards and ID’s were still there but the cash was gone. It was close to a hundred bucks. Still, I was grateful the thief didn’t make my life more complicated than he could have.

“Well, they probably needed the money,” some lady said to me.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they were entitled to it,” I said to her.

It was an expensive trip to the farmer’s market and I still owe the Mexicans twelve dollars. But the strawberries were good, as usual. The green beans look real fresh and I think the watermelon will be sweet.

As usual.

This entry was posted on August 25, 2014 at 4:38 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.