WOULD YOU SHOPLIFT ASPIRIN FROM THE DOLLAR STORE?

I know of people who would not want to be seen in a Dollar Store.  But it’s on the way home from the library and they have good prices, so I stopped for a bottle of aspirin.

There was a lot of confusion at the check out.  An elderly man was having trouble finding a credit card that worked, which meant the line was backed up pretty deep.  At last, another clerk appeared and started checking people out at a second cash register, while the man kept going back to his car in desperation to find a good credit card.  Finally, I offered to pay his bill, but at that moment, he found a card that worked, or maybe found some cash. These are some of the sad stories you see there every day.

Nevertheless, I got home and unpacked my Bayer Aspirin from the box.   Upon unscrewing the cap, I saw that the foil seal had been neatly trimmed away, and there were maybe 10 aspirin in the bottom of the bottle.  By then, I’d thrown the box in the trash and it was all wet and smashed.  Fortunately, the receipt was stuck in my purse, so I was all set to get my money back.  The manager was very understanding and immediately gave me a new , intact bottle.  I asked him if that wasn’t pretty amazing to think someone would bother stealing a few aspirin, and he shrugged and said, “happens every day.” 

I got to thinking about the person who did that.  Was it an employee who sneakily stole the aspirin when no one was around?  Or maybe someone broke, desperate, and in pain.  It seems incredible that in our affluent society someone would risk a shoplifting conviction for such a small thing. I really don’t know, but from now on, I’m going to check the over the counter drugs  I purchase, just to make sure they’re all there.