Green me

It was so satisfying last night.

The District has a new tax, 5c for every bag you receive in a store to put your purchased items in. Paper, plastic, it doesn't matter, every bag is a nickel. They say they're going to earmark the funds to clean up the Potomac but it's a pure revenue-raiser, like red-light cameras. It doesn't matter, it's a good idea.

I walked into work yesterday morning after buying three bananas for a dollar at my usual coffee outlet with the bananas stuffed into my pocket. They went in yellow and firm and came out black and mushy. When the cashier offered a bag, I just said, "No."

Last night I went into the supermarket on my way home and actually brought in a cloth bag with me. I had bought this weeks earlier to use for recurring purchases but this was the first time I had remembered to bring my own bag along. At the cash register, after ringing me up for 18.90, they shoved my purchases into my bag and collected the total of 18.85. You get a nickel credit at Giant for "bringing your own."

Cool. I'm green, man. Me 'n the Hulk.

Lessee. The bag cost me 1.99 so I need nineteen more trips to make it pay for itself. If I split my purchases in half each time, swinging around to the back of the cash line again with the rest of my items after making the initial buy...