Sep
19
Situational Honesty?
September 19, 2007 |
I had gone back to the car to get the cloth grocery carrier my wife and I had purchased at Trader Joes. There’s something about the local farmer’s market that brings out our ’socially responsible’ selves and it seems that Linda and I are not alone in this.
On my way back from the car and about a block and a half from the market, I spotted another couple, laden with cloth bags filled with fresh, organic produce, walking away from the market. There was a look of concern and trepidation on the wife’s face as she slowed to a stop. She called to her husband and, as he turned to look at her, she said in something of an undertone, “Honey, I have to go back.” In answer to his questioning expression, she closed the gap between them and quietly explained, “She gave me too much money”.
I had walked past them at this point but turned to see whether her husband had altered her resolve. He had not. She was following closely behind me and, as we entered the bank parking lot that was the Sunday home to the Emmaus Farmer’s Market, my curiosity got the better of me. I watched the woman as she headed directly to one of the busier stalls. She waited patiently for the older of two women behind the array of vegetables to finish another transaction and, without fanfare, handed her a $10 bill explaining, “you gave me too much change”. She was acknowledged with a quiet “thank you” and a slight nod.
That was that. But I can’t help wondering if I would have witnessed the same scene in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Would this conscientious wife be willing to take the long journey back from the parking lot and endure the anticipated blank stare of incomprehension on the clerk’s face to resolve her moral dilemma? Or would she even experience a moral dilemma? Is there a different set of normative behaviors at local farmers markets, where we are faced with the people who have grown their very own produce and carted them to market, than at the local Big Box where we transact with apathetic hourly employees? Or is there, perhaps, a different type of customer at the farmer’s market than there is at the Wal-Mart? I’m not sure I have a definitive answer.
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I sing/play music at the Emmaus Farmers Market you visitied. I have seen several instances of the kind of honesty you recount. Its because the customers feel a closeness with the farmers that they don’t get in the big boxes. The person taking their money grew their food. Its that simple. My connection with the market’s customers when I sing is the same. People don’t get enough live music in their busy lives. That’s why folks often stop and thank me as they stroll by with their arms full.