365 Photos Day 202

202/365

Today the Minnesota Zoomobile came out to do a show on anti-bullying.

One of the animals used in the show was this red-tailed hawk. She's a little mistrustful of people, but is oh-so-gorgeous.

The show was for the area kids, co-sponsored by the Library Board and the local 4-H club. It addressed the topic of what to do when being bullied, and gave the kids some steps to follow.

The steps were:

1. Tell the person who is being a bully, "Please stop. I don't like what you're doing."
2. Walk away. Go somewhere that person isn't.
3. And if all else fails, go tell a responsible adult about it.

Now realistically, that's a good plan. I'm not sure I 100% agree with it all. I mean, in a perfect world where everyone is playing by the same rules, sure. Then it'd all work. But in real life? Eh. Not so much.

In fact, that's why the Kid ended up going to preschool a year before we had wanted to send her. She & I were at a McDonald's for lunch one day, and she was happily playing in the ball pit. I looked up just in time to see a little guy throwing balls at her head and hitting her with the flap on the entrance. I got up to go over to see what was going on and was proud to hear her saying, "Please stop. I don't like what you're doing." Unfortunately, the boy just kept on keeping on. Well, until he saw me coming, that is. I must have had quite the look in my eyes because his mom jumped out of her seat and hustled over to see what was going on. When I said that he'd been hitting my kid, she didn't believe her little snowflake would do such a thing. (I did manage to restrain myself from throwing balls at HER head and asking her if SHE liked it. I'm rather pleased with myself for that.) But it was obvious that my Kid had spent too much time with adults and not enough time with kids her own age, so we figured that we'd start her in the 3-year old preschool that year so she could be around people her own age.

That said, I'm not saying to meet bullying with bullying, because that's not the answer either. My parents were big on, "You don't ever START the fight, but if you have to, then you be the one to END the fight. By whatever means needed." The shift in attitudes since I was a kid oh-so-long ago is noticeable, though. We pretty much dealt with it ourselves, with little or no adult intervention. I don't know what the answer is. But I do know that the animals were really interesting at least.

Walking the Walk

Today was just one of those odd days. Heck, this week has been one of those weeks, and it's only Tuesday (soon to be Wednesday).

So, here's the deal. A week and a half ago, I went to Target to get some things to continue working on the various home projects I have going. I got some more paint tray liners so I could maybe use one for primer, one for color, and have one to spare. Target has a 3-pack for about $2.75ish, so I get one...or so I thought.

Later in the week, when I was cleaning up my staging area, I noticed that I had inadvertently gotten 2 3-packs because they were stuck together. I checked my receipt, and saw that I'd only paid for one. Damn.

I went to a different Target earlier this week to return something else, and asked whether I needed to bring the extra 3-pack in, or if I could just pay for them. The cashier looked at me like I was nuts and told me that she didn't know, but that I should probably go back to the Target I'd gotten them from. Really? Well, OK.

Tonight I took the 2 3-packs plus my receipt to yet a different Target and explained what had happened. The nice lady looked at me, perplexed. I offered to pay for the extra set, considering I'd had them for a week, but it ended up that since I didn't actually want them, I could just give them back. As she was taking the one 3-pack to put into the returns cart, she looked at me oddly and said (kind of like I was a big dummy), "You know, most people wouldn't have even bothered to bring these back. Um, thanks for being honest."

Uh.

I never know what to think about this kind of thing.

It was a mistake on both my and the original cashier's parts--mine for not being careful enough to make sure I had only one, and then not checking my receipt right away, and the cashier's for not making sure to ring up both. But two wrongs don't necessarily make a right, kind of like the saying goes.

Also, my kid was with me. What kind of example am I setting if I say, "Wooo! Their mistake!! I get to keep this for free!!!"? Is there some kind of dollar limit at which this becomes OK? (No) Am I that odd for returning it and offering to pay? (Apparently) Would I do it this way again? (Absolutely) Is this the kind of action that she'll remember and emulate herself? (More than likely)

The whole thing made me think about personal values and the moral grey area in a way I haven't for awhile, not in a meaningful way, anyhow. It was the right thing to do, though, and even as odd as the Target employee (and my husband, and a family friend) thought I was for doing it, I'm glad I did.