WTF x 3 (or 2+1)
1. A few weeks ago I went back to Exceptions Gourmands with a friend from New York.
The two women working there were quite nice and helpful, and my friend ended up picking out a few things to buy. The amount was something like 7.53€. So my friend opened her wallet and handed over a 10€ bill.
“Oooohhh,” the saleswoman said, eyeing the lone bill laying on the counter. “Do you happen to have exact change?” she asked.
After we rifled through our collective pockets and purses for something smaller, which took a couple of minutes, we eventually cobbled together a jumbled mix of euro coins and little copper centimes.
The woman smiled, picked up all the change, thanked us profusely…“Merci beaucoup, et bonne après-midi!”…as we left.
On our way our, she opened the cash drawer to put the money inside.
I happened to look down.
And noticed in the drawer stacks of bills in all denominations. And plenty of coins.
2. I recently went to a press chat, where a representative from the WWF gave us an impassioned presentation on the dangers facing us in Europe as a result of our overconsumption of the ocean’s resources, along with a nifty little guide-to-action called “Poissons en danger!!”
At the end of the talk, the fellow walked outside and lit up a cigarette.
Once he finished it, taking the last drag, he flicked the butt into the Seine, then turned and walked away. I didn’t check but I don’t think the guide said anything about the hazards of cigarette butts.
So I guess they’re okay.
3. When I was back in the states, I was watching television and landed on an episode of Oprah about overconsuming.
After following a couple of families around, advising them on how to live for less, chiding them on the amount of waste they were generating, Oprah triumphantly announced that as of that day, none of the full-time staff in her multi-storied office would be using paper cups anymore.
Oprah didn’t mention anything about eliminating the paper cups in one of her 7 or 8 homes.
But I’m sure she working on that.
