power of $1

This last week I was in line to pay at one of my favorite fine dining establishments. For those who know me it starts with a "Q."

The gentlemen in front of me was paying with cash. He asked for the total then frantically started to search other pockets for loose change. He found some, it was inside his jacket pocket, but apprently was not enouch for his bill. So, he asked the cashier to remove his soft drink from the total and recalculate. This all happened fairly quickly as there was a line of people behind us growing more impatient my the nano-second, after all this was their lunch break. I could see the screen and saw that he was trying to come up with ninety eight cents to cover his deficit. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a one dollar bill and held it in my hand. He had his wallet laying on the counter with his keys (had emptied his pockets) and was recounting his loose change. Without saying a word, I just reached forward and laid the one dollar bill on top of his wallet. He saw it, inhaled for the first time in well over a minute, looked at me and nodded, then handed the cashier the dollar. His head was a little higher as he took his one burrito to his seat to share with his significant other. They shared one water cup.