What happens to me at work.
" I was hollerin' for five minutes but no one heard me."
I turned around to see a large middle-aged white women standing by the dish rack. She spoke with a Southern drawl.
" You folks are out of toilet paper. I had to use paper towels. I dislike using paper towels."
Keeping the bathroom stocked and clean was my job. I felt sympathetic towards the woman's dilemma. Stuck in a public restroom, unaware of where the toilet paper was. Her cries for help going unanswered. Forced to use uncomfortable paper towels for cleaning herself.
" Sorry about that," I replied. "I'll go grab some."
I ran upstairs to retrieve the toilet paper.
All of the bathroom supplies were kept in large room in an apartment above the bakery. One of the old employees used to reside there, but now it doubled as an office and massive storage room.
I found a bulk package of toilet paper and grabbed three rolls. I went downstairs to the bathroom to put one of the rolls on the holder, and the other two on a shelf above the toilet. This way no costumer would be caught in this situation for the rest of my shift.
I walked back over to the dirty dishes. There the woman stood picking walnuts off of a dirty baking pan and shoving them in her mouth. Images of the homeless and the impoverished ran through my mind. Was she starving? Should a give her a loaf of bread?
She did not look homeless. In fact, she looked well enough off, and well fed.
" I thought I finish these nuts off before you threw em out."
The woman stood there picking nuts off the dirty baking pan unaware of how she looked. Apathetic towards eating trash from the bakery. It was just a natural action for her.