POCKED PICKET!!!

On the "Silk Road" Shanghai American School trip last week I was a chaperone and constantly warned kids about pick pockets in the local markets. A few times I'd stop one of the guys with the 'baggy pants' look and tell them that the wallet in open view in their baggy pocket was easy pickens. Did the same with a few of the girls who had open back pack pockets.

So did you ever lose something and keep looking in your pocket thinking: "That $50 bill HAS to be here somewhere"? You keep thinking on one hand it's still there while your logical side says "GONZO".

I'm sure two parts of my brain had something like the following conversation when I got jostled hard in the market place and instantly knew something wasn't right but couldn't put my finger on it. Well deft fingers opened the front of my fanny pack and helped themselves to my cell phone.

"What are you doing?"
"Looking in the fanny pack compartment for the cell phone."
"You know he got his pocket picked don't ya?"
"I'm not ready to admit that. Look here are some rubber bands and an empty Tic Tac box."
"So you think if you keep looking in there it's going to reappear?"
"After all he's been preaching I've got to help the guy. Let's ease him into reality."
"The cell phone is gone!!!"
"Let me look again for him. Yup...still rubber bands and a Tic Tac box."
"It's not there!!!"
"I'm going to take him back through the market. Maybe he dropped it."
"Oh....and why do you think that compartment is open right after he got jostled?"
"He left it open?"
"You're not ready to admit it yet are ya? HE GOT HIS POCKET PICKED!!!"
"He's reaching into each of his front pockets now."
"It's not there!!!"
"You're right. Time to fess up to the reality monster. But.....if I look for one last time maybe...........