Special Days
by
Yesterday was World AIDS Day. In Vancouver, there were services and campaigns to help raise awareness [AIDSVan]. Around the world, nations and communities marked the day, whether it was by handing out red ribbons or massive public demonstrations.
…The need for additional treatment and prevention programs, health officials say, remains staggering. The global pandemic has killed 25 million people since the first case was reported in 1981, with 40 million currently infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. [CBC]
For the sick and the less fortunate these special days once a year, mustn’t be enough but they must help in some way. If even to educate and remind others that there is suffering.
This morning I went to Safeway to get some breakfast items. Outside there were 3 young girls with a woman, handing out cookies and coffee cups (coffee was inside). Today is Safeway’s Food Bank Day. I’m unsure if it’s just this location, but they were encouraging food and cash donations and in exchange, offering warm beverages and baked goods. At the checkout I realized I didn’t have any cash (just debit, per usual) so they said I could round up my bill and donate the remainder to the cause. I wasn’t anticipating to donate anything today, but I’m glad I did. Although one would think it would also help to hand out those baked goods and warm beverages in the DTES.
What I’m not glad about is a woman placed her order on the conveyor belt then told me to go ahead of her as she dashed off to collect more items around the store. The clerk then ran up everything so I had to let him know what was and wasn’t mine. He removed her items from my bag (and my bill).
As I’m sitting at home typing this John calls from the kitchen “Fruitcake?!”. Yeah, apparently the clerk forgot about the other woman’s $8.99 fruitcake that he scanned and put in my bag. I feel pretty ashamed that my donation is now overshadowed by the nine dollars I apparently shelled out for this fruitcake. I’ll try to find a way to make things right this afternoon.
