I recently passed a wheelchair bound woman and a young girl, presumably her daughter, on the street. She had a roll of singles in her hand and was giving some to the girl to go to the store. It’s important to note this was all on a steep slope, and she was facing downhill. She must have some good brakes. Well anyway, the girl gets impatient and yanks a dollar out of her mom’s hand.
“Don’t snatch my money!” cried the woman, as only an indignant, paralyzed black woman can. The kid froze, and I was knocked backward by the force of her sheer disgust. This is going to get ugly, I thought, but the hail of 6-inch press-on nailed hands on her daughter’s head never came.
“Now, buy me a soda!” she ordered, quickly turning the situation around in her favor. Instead of continuing to take offense at her rude offspring, she seized the opportunity to demand, not an apology, but refreshment. The girl could easily have taken the money and run uphill, delaying punishment until she had to wheel her mother home. The woman’s only option was to paralyze the kid with fear.
“I make lemons out of lemonade!” I thought I heard her declare.
The woman gave the girl some more money to complete a couple more errands, probably a sandwich to go with the soda.
Let this be a lesson to everyone. Snatching money from your mom may seem like a good idea at the time, but it will probably backfire, and you’ll be forced to push your paraplegic mother back home where she can show you how well her arms still work.
I also love that she opted for “snatch” as opposed to “take.” Who says snatch, ever, unless it’s being used slangily?
but I do love a slangly snatch…..
er.
um.
I mean, it implies a certain amount of greed and selfishness.