Unrequested Favors

Weight = 179.6 lbs.   Not bringing the weight down as rapidly as hoped following the gluttonous vacation over the Easter holidays at Destin, Fl.  Still too much Easter candy in the pantry.

Coinage = $.63   Another off day for money walking.

Best Find = A dime and penny scatter along the curb just before the walk ended.  Although totals were low, the walk did yield four different scatter finds.

Comment = Today was a better day for reflection than reclamation.  Booker award winner Anita Brookner frequently has her characters taking long walks.  From Lewis Percy:   

“Whatever the reason, he was not anxious to get home without some kind of interval rumination, some time to call his own. The idea of covering a long distance appealed to him. Gentlemen in Trollope, to whom he was devoted, even more than to his early heroes, covered vast distances and were thus able to sustain their noble thoughts. He resolved to walk home regularly, and to tell Tissy to expect him an hour later than his usual time.”

Friday morning was extra cool in New Orleans and just outside of my home; I passed a young man with only a thin t-shirt and a back pack.  Wanting to help, I quickly retrieved a hooded warm-up top.  I had retrieved it curb-side from an earlier walk and washed it for the purpose of giving it away (reclamation).  Here was the chance—give it to the young man. 

Although shivering, he refused the warm-up.  Why?  Behaviorists explain that “unrequested favors” are often viewed with suspicion, that if accepted the person feels obligated to the donor.  So maybe my friend suspected me of untoward behavior.  Anyway, my two reclamation projects of restoring coins into the economy and recycling warm clothing both failed.  But, during the walk, the mind was free to reflect and 'ruminate.'

MoneyWalker