Worth More Than 30 Cents

He needed 30 cents more.  His slow and careful arranging of words verified that he was not a student at the local university as he had claimed a minute earlier, asking for a student discount at the craft store counter and pointing to his university sweatshirt.  The bill was $6.30.  He had six dollars even. I handed him a dollar bill and told the cashier to give the change to the fellow.  He left, shuffling out with his little bag of purchases.

"Do you have a coupon?" my clerk asked.  Replacing the cord in the mini blinds had brought me into this particular craft/fabric store as an essential part of the Things I get to do today--can't replace the cord without new cord.  I knew nothing of their coupons.

"No, not unless you pretend I do," I said.

A nearby employee spoke loudly across the way to the clerk involved who was now helping me, "I want you to know he comes in here and does that all the time."

Coupon was worth $13.00

"------- Fabrics will not fall on hard times from the compassion shown to one man who is playing with all he has. And he will not get rich from his attempt to save a few pennies," I heard myself say. My clerk smiled. I swiped my card and she handed me my receipt. The total was about half of what I mentally figured was owed for the 45 yards of cord for my blinds.

"I owe you a lot more than this," I said.

"The coupon," she said.