The Eighth Commandment

When you live in South Florida, you begin to accept certain things as normal. Some normal occurrences include rude people, lousy drivers, annual French Canadian invasions, and cheaters. Lots and lots of cheaters... and senior citizens are often the worst offenders.

Given that most of them were probably present when God presented Moses with the ten commandments, one would think they'd remember the eighth commandment: Thou shall not steal. As a business owner, it's difficult to express how much it upsets me when I see people trying to be slick and cheat businesses out of their opportunity to charge for their products and services.

Tonight I was at a local buffet restaurant where they offer different colored cups depending on whether you paid for a beverage or asked for tap water. The water glasses are blue and the beverage glasses are clear. Pretty simple, right? Apparently not. Sure enough, I saw several seniors, as well as one younger patron, with blue cups filled with sodas. There were a couple instances when the busser took a few double takes, but he didn't say anything.

Quite frankly, had I been the manager, I would have walked up to the table, presented a check for the price of the drink, and waited to be paid for it. Where do people get off thinking that it's OK to steal? It's even worse when the thieves are disguised as fragile little old people. You may be old, but we know you're not stupid. There's a saying in Spanish that states, "Mas sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo". In English, that means that the devil knows more because he's old than because he's the devil. At this point in their lives, these folks know better than to scam their way out of paying $1.50 for a soda, especially when they can afford it.

This incident is an example of how disrespectful people have become in this society. So many people think they're entitled to freebies, special treatment, or services simply because they woke up that morning. The fact is that someone had to work in order to obtain that thing that someone else feels they're entitled to steal.  If enough people cheat a restaurant out of a $1.50 beverage, eventually those losses could result in someone losing their job. It may not seem like much, but it adds up.

So for those who think they're slick, just remember the eighth commandment. If you're old and trying to be slick, just remember that you're that much closer to meeting the author, so you better be extra good... or else. BWAhahahahahaaaa....