I witnessed something very disturbing Friday night. I decided to run up to Wal-Mart to pick up one last gift, and I was not prepared for what I saw: there was a line of a dozen people waiting to take their turn at the claw/crane machine. In and of itself, this site was disturbing enough, but one thing made it worse: a few of the people waiting to use the machine were in wheelchairs or on crutches.
I had to wait a couple of minutes before I could maneuver my way through the lobby to get into the store, so I was able to just stand there and take all of this in. I have to admit that it really bothered me. I am almost ashamed to say this, but all of the people waiting for the machine looked like they couldn't afford the quarter to put in the machine. As I was watching the people waiting for the machine, I started thinking and came to the conclusion that maybe the prizes they win in the machine might be the only Christmas presents they give out. That was the part that got to me. I have an overactive imagination, so I started to envision little kids opening up their package on Christmas morning only to find some generic stuffed animal. Or an adult opening their package and getting a gold plated watch or necklace.
I had a similar epiphany the next morning. I ran up to KMart to pick up a water bottle for our water cooler, and as I was walking across the parking lot, I saw a cab pull up by the door. A woman and a kid got out and they went in the store to do their shopping. When I left the store, the cab was still there, I'm sure with the meter still running, while the woman was doing her shopping. This was at about 9:30 in the morning, so I'm pretty sure the woman hadn't been drinking and was using a MADD cab. I guess she didn't have a car and needed to do her shopping. I don't want to sound sappy or corny, nor use worn-out cliches, but these experiences made me truly thankful for all that I have.
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