Watched

Tim needed an hour to tie up loose ends at the old house. I had some errands to run, and so I headed out to do them.

One of the places I needed to go was the Dollar Tree, strangely enough. I wanted to pick up tissue paper. I also wanted to pick up two bags of the polished river stones they sell cheaper than any place else. I am making a couple floral planters as a Christmas gift for someone who struggles with SAD. 

Now I haven't been to the Dollar Tree for a long time. It was crowded with shoppers. I headed for the party aisle where all the gift wrap and ribbons and gift bags and just about anything you need to make a party. I had to wait for a woman who was on one of those motorized scooters. She was looking and gift wrap and the tissue paper was on the lower shelf exactly where she was parked. 

As I said, I was not in a hurry. I had most of that hour left before Tim would be done. So I waited looking around me. When she finally moved on, I got my tissue paper, three packages.

The next aisle was toys. I stopped to look at the coloring books. I had gotten a deal on 24 pks of Crayola crayons the previous week at a store that was going out of business. If I could find coloring books to go with them, it would make a cute little bundle for the toy giveaway. I looked at the different coloring books, but they were pretty unremarkable, so I went on. 

The next aisle was craft stuff and the rocks I needed. They had black stones and multi-colored stones. They also had glass stones. I decided to stick to the polished stones. They were a better deal and would suit the set of pots I had at home. I put two bags in the cart with my tissue paper and headed on. I considered a basket to put the pots in. I could wrap it in cellophane and put a ribbon on it for a nice presentation. I considered it for a minute, and then just decided to go with a box. 

I pushed my cart around to the next aisle and pondered hair things for my grands but didn't see anything that struck me as 'right'. Down the aisle was hair product. I did study some hair gel. Hmmmmm....I wondered how it would compare to mousse. At that price, I figured it was worth a try. So I picked up a tube and wandered on

 

I stopped at make up. I was nearly out of blush. My pressed powder had lasted a couple years, so... But when I looked, they had a lot of products to choose from, but the stuff that looked like blush was something called contouring powder. Was it the same? There were a lot of different colors. I looked and pondered, and finally decided I would be better off sticking to the brand I have used for the last decade or so, but while I was making that weighty decision, a man scooted up beside me and stood there at the eye makeup. The first thing I noticed was that he was much closer to me than I am used to strangers being, but like I said, the store was busy. Maybe I was in his way, just as the lady had been in my way when I wanted tissue paper. I shifted my cart down to make room. 

He'd pick up something and hang it back on the peg. Stand there seeming to study all the offerings just as I was. 

Because I am a people watcher, I watched him from the corner of my eye, wondering what his story was. He was a tall baldheaded black man in business attire. He certainly looked out of his league there in the make up. 

Having decided against the blush I moved on. There wasn't anything else I needed, but I did take a moment to to look at some little geegaws that might be nice stocking stuffers. In the end, I decided not to add to the plastic waste and skipped those too.

I noticed the man standing up front, seeming to study the items on an end cap as I pushed my cart to the register. Once I was in line, he passed through a closed register lane and darted into the office. 

How odd. So he was the manager. But, why...???!!

My thinking was derailed for a moment by the cashier. We chatted while she rang me up, I paid for my 5 items and then put my cart away and left with my bag. 

It wasn't until I was driving down the road it struck me. He was watching me. A plain old 70 year old woman...but one wearing a bulky coat. Somebody who was in no particular hurry, pushing her cart along, studying the things on the shelves. Not really buying much... I had raised his suspicions.

I wasn't really mad about it. It felt uncomfortable, but it occurred to me that as a black man living in a very racially homogenous area (over 98% of the people here are white), it was a perfect opportunity to 'walk a mile in someone else's moccasins'. I am sure that man has found himself being regarded suspiciously. For no reason. Just going about his business. 

I was passing by that store today. I was so curious, so I stopped in to talk to him. He wasn't in, but the assistant manager wasn't letting me out of there without an explanation

 

I told her it was nothing and that I wasn't mad or anything, just curious. Was stealing a big problem in a dollar store? (Answer: yes.) Does the manager spend the day watching customers from in the office? (Answer: well...not all day...) Does corporate really ride staff about loss prevention? (Answer: yes, with an interesting look exchanged between the cashier and the assistant manager. I sensed that this was a very big deal.)

I said, "Well I was just curious." The cashier offered up "That would have irritated me..." I assured them again that I wasn't at all irritated. I just never saw myself as a shady looking person, but he is probably fearful of getting in trouble and losing his job...and it was an excellent opportunity to understand what it is like to be regarded with suspicion.

It was an interesting experience. There is so much injustice in this world. Being on the receiving end of it certainly was an eye opener.