Not for your dime

Last week I was waiting in line to buy four items at the company store of my employer.  There was a lady getting on in years that was buying an inordinate amount of items in front of me.  I decided to apply my new techniques to improve my patience.  Luckily the transaction didn't take as long as I feared.  When the lady received her change she unknowingly dropped one of the dimes and it landed near her foot.  Normally I would have bent over and given the dime to the lady.  It's fair to say if she were young and attractive I probably would have without hesitation. 

As you may guess I decided not to pick up the dime, for her or for me.  I think I've come to a point in my life where things like that just don't matter to me.  Whatever thanks I would have received would have been minimal at best.  I wouldn't have felt better for it.  The act would have been quickly forgotten by all witnesses.  And what is a dime really worth in this day and age? 

A similar example of something that doesn't matter to me anymore is littering.  I was driving last week on I-95 in Maine and was initially impressed by the heather and grass that  was in the ditch between north and southbound traffic.  As I returned my gaze periodically I started to notice some trash, then some more, and then realized Maine and Michigan aren't all that different.  About ten years ago I volunteered to clean up a company sponsored section of highway.  Ah, youth.  Now with more years under my belt I realize littering won't end, and people will always drop change, but that doesn't mean I'm going to pick it up.