Monday, March 23, 2009

$75 Cigars?!

On a brighter note, here's an incredible series of events that I experienced in Miami over spring break.
Myself and two good friends spent the last week in Miami enjoying the beach and the sun. One of the first days we got there we decided to go to a local cigar shop and buy some stogies. I'm not a big cigar guy so I only bought two - total = $15.00.
Fast forward three days.
Friday afternoon found the three of us ordering pasta (remember, no meat) in a nice little Italian restaurant. Right before we had left for the restaurant my buddy John had offered me a piece of gum, which I accepted. It was that same piece of gum which I needed to get rid of before my meal. Unable to find a trash can and unwilling to swallow it, I reached into my pocket for a receipt. I happened to glance at the small receipt I had pulled from my pocket and was amazed that it was for something I had apparently paid $75 for. I knew for a fact that at no time on the trip had I paid that much for anything. I soon came to realize that the cigar shop we had gone to a couple days before had charged me $75 instead of $15.
Expecting the worst, we headed back to the shop that same night. I had no evidence of my purchase (the items weren't listed on the receipt) and to make matters even worse, there was a different cashier at the counter - an older Russian gentlemen.
Our conversation went something like this:
Me: "Hi, I came in here a couple days ago and -"
Him: "Don't worry, I know all about your problem."
Me: "Oh. You do?"
Him: "Yes, the woman told me what happened right away but we had no way of contacting you. Would you like cash or credit?"
Me: "Cash would be great..."
Him: [pulls out his wallet and hands me $60]
Me: [jaw drops] "Thank you so much!"

Praise God! Sixty dollars might not be much, but to a poor college student hoping to spend as little as possible, it's a fortune. What a blessing.

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