Do You Have A Dollar For Me? - Algodones, MX

As we all waited in line to return to the US at the Algodones border crossing, there were two young Mexican woman just around the corner ahead.

I had become friendly with a couple, about my age, directly behind me and we were chit chatting about all kinds of things to pass the time.

As we made the corner there was the first woman standing holding brightly painted stem flowers in her hand looking to sell.

Just past her was the second young woman sitting on the ground subdued hiding a donation can with her head down.

The woman behind me beat me going to my pocket by getting to her own quickly and dropped a five in the second girls bucket.

Girl number 1 obviously saw this and that I was looking to add to the collection of girl number 2, but being much slower on the draw, she puts her bright smiling face in front of me with perfect timing and asked, Do you have a dollar for me?

Now I normally keep a couple of ones rolled in my pocket for handing out so I done take out my wallet, but my lack of planning made me slower than the woman I had friended.  

Tge first woman, with the flowers for sake, that were not at all selling, that dollar as it exited my wallet.  

Yea it was a bit forward of her but I don't care, in retrospect her flowers were not selling and she could have sat with her head down on the ground holding a can too, but she was at least trying to sell something and I didn't feel bad about the situation.

When I go to Mexico I expect that I may run across what I call chicklet kids (very young children selling trinkets and chicklets) that look at you with big brown eyes and I usually give them a dollar if I'm moving on.

I made s mistake once by sitting in a restaurant where they let the vendors in to walk through the tables, and I gave a chicklet kid a dollar without buying his wares  He quickly turned around and went and got his brother to come over to embrace my generosity too.  Yea another dollar for the brother.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com