Sometimes I wonder why I'm even allowed out in public. But, really.
I was eating a late lunch at Panera. After I had finished my meal, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and I had my purse in one hand and the discarded lunch tray in the other. I walked to the trash can, promptly dumped all the contents of my plate into the trash and set the plastic plate in the bin for used dishes. As soon as I set my plate down I realized that I had just thrown out a metal spoon and knife. And NOT in the washing bin where they were supposed to go, where there was already a nice little pile of silverware.
Luckily, I am quite skilled in the art of social gaffes. I quickly glanced into the trash can, saw it was only half full, spied my spoon and knife, and did one small peek to see if anyone would notice. Acting as if everything was normal (I mean, who doesn't reach inside public trash cans?) I grabbed my two utensils and placed them safely in the washing tub. With one quick sweep of the room I convinced myself that no one had seen or truly cared about what I had just done, since there were no collective shocked faces or rude stares and angrily pointed fingers. Pulling my backpack higher on my shoulder, I trudged out the door and into the rain.
