Cash Drawer
He looked like Raymond Carver, but with modern, rimless reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. His brown hair combed neatly back from his furrowed brow which looked ready for spring planting, like mine. I’d stopped in at our local auto parts store for front brake pads for the Mazda, and I carried this funny collection of bills from our trip to Aruba. Hundreds, fifties and lots of singles.
“You want the knock offs for thirty or original equipment for seventy?”He asked.
“What’s the difference?”
“Maybe ten thousand miles.”
I chose the cheaper pads and I gave him a fifty. I said, “Can you use ones? I’d like to get rid of all these so I can sit down again.â€
“I’ll take all you’ve got.†Ray’s lookalike replied.
As he pulled change from the register I dealt those dollar bills into a neat stack and laid them on the counter. He didn’t watch me, he didn’t pay much attention at all, and when he asked how many I said, “Twenty.â€
He picked up the pile and dropped them in the singles slot in the register and handed me a twenty.
“Give or take three or four.†I said.
He smiled.
“You’re not from around here, are you?†I asked.
“I’m not, I’m from Oregon.â€
Same as Carver, I thought.
“How did you know?â€
“You didn’t count those bills.â€
“I trust everyone.†He said.
What auto parts store? I need a headlight and I only have 4 dollars.
Comment by Jen — May 24, 2008 @ 9:06 am
While Mikey counted out [roughly] 20 singles, the Carver lookalike was at work on his own blog:
You see all kinds in my line of work. He had a forehead like a well-worn set of off-road radials and walked into my joint with a smile that he stole off some green 20-year-old. Friendly as a retriever, he slapped a stack of bills down on the counter and asked if I needed ones. “Gimme all ya got,” I said as he started dealing paper.
Comment by el Kib — May 24, 2008 @ 9:51 am
One of the blogs funnier comments.
Comment by michael — May 24, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
being in the west right now, one thing has struck me, every one is really really nice. You walk into a store and like 5 people rush to help you. I walked into a climbing store and next thing i know im talking to this guy like we were old pals. Trading stories and talking about all types of gear that i cant afford. Its nice to feel welcomed where ever you go.
Comment by goose — May 24, 2008 @ 6:36 pm