The Store Owner
“Last week, I caught a lady in the back of the store stuffing things into her purse. We don’t really have shoplifters here. This whole store is two aisles. I can see everything from my seat up front. So I walked over to her real calm and put my hand on her shoulder. I took her purse and opened it up. Inside she had a carton of eggs, a six-pack of wieners, and two or three candy bars. She started crying. She said she had three kids, and her man had lost his job, and they had nothing to eat and no place to go. Maybe it was a lie. I don’t know. But who’s making up stories for seven or eight dollars of groceries? She was telling me, ‘Please, please, I’m begging you,’ and I stood there and thought about it, and what am I supposed to do? I said: ‘That’s okay. You’re all right.’ I let her take it. I like to help. I always want to say yes. But I’m starting to get more desperate myself, so it’s getting harder.” WaPo: Burnell Cotlon, on his beloved community and why he’s keeping a secret list.