Generally, I consider taxi rides to be a treat.

But not always.

Around 1:00 am on Halloween, I hailed a cab with a friend. "Drive around to the front of this building. Can ya leave the meter running while I go inside to tell our friends that we've left? Thanks, man...I appreciate it."

A few minutes later, the cabbie told my friend to run inside and get me because he was in a hurry and had someone waiting.

After she left the car to get me, the cabbie took off.

With my backpack on the seat. A backpack with… Ech. About $500 worth of stuff and hassle.

So what do I do? I don't even know what cab company it was.

My friend felt really bad. She said, "I guess I need to learn to trust people less."

Ouch. That sounds terrible.

Losing faith is much worse than losing some stuff.

So this is how I'm looking at it all:

Spending $500 every once-in-a-while is a small price to pay to be able to continue trusting people.

I can get another driver's license. I have another camera. I have more money. I can buy more trashy, frosted-pink lipstick.

I'll consider the loss to be part of my optimism tax. I sporadically pay this fee (when people take advantage of my trust in goodness) in exchange for optimistic freedom.

I would be less at-risk if I concentrated more on the negatives. "What if _____ happens?" But it's not worth it. The cost to my quality of life (by worrying more) is far more expensive than the cost of losing some stuff.

Even so, when all is said and done, I think I prefer treats to tricks.

October 31, nineteen99

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