Glove Karma

What goes around comes around. The interconnected web of life. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Cause and effect. Whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall also reap. For each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Karma.

Fumbling with coins while wearing gloves is a challenge for me, so when I stopped at the newspaper box on my way to the train Wednesday morning, I removed my right glove and placed it on top of the box. I fed two quarters to the box, removed the newspaper and boarded the train. As the train departed from the station, I realized I had left the glove on the box.

Geez, I now have only one glove.

I obsessed about this all day. During the train ride home, I continued to think about the glove so I would remember to walk past the newspaper box to see if by some great piece of chance cosmic karma the glove might still be there.

While standing in the aisle for the last two or three minutes of the train ride, I noticed a small black object attached to a coat hook. It was a black glove. No way. The tag peeking form inside boasted the words Thinsulate 40 gram. Am I hallucinating? I pulled my surviving glove from my pocket to read the label. Thinsulate 40 gram. Way. Lots of gloves have a tag like that, so I removed the glove from the hook for closer inspection. A perfect match!

What are the chances that someone would see the glove on the box, assume a passenger left it there, take it to the train and place it on the highly visible hook so whoever left it might see it? There are six or seven trains each way each day on this line … what are the chances I would be on the same end of the same car of the same train on my way home?

What goes around comes around. Cause and effect. Glove Karma.

Maybe I should leave a thank you note on the newspaper box. Maybe I should play Lotto this week.