Do You NEED a Bag?

Not sure if I've disclosed this before, but, I, most unfortunately, am a cashier, and I am not young.  It pains me to write that.  In fact, I try to avoid saying the word as much as possible.  At work, we have head cashiers.  I call them "HCs."  I don't even like to see people working as cashiers, because it reminds me of how I spend 40 hours a week.  "You are what you do" is bullshit.  I am not, at my core, a cashier.  It is just how I pay the bills.  People, that I don't know, have purchased and read my writing, so, therefore, by definition, I am a professional writer (just not a successful one).
However, even someone as low on the food chain as I am can make a difference.  I don't think I've ever heard one of my coworkers asking a customer if they NEED a bag.  They either bag the item(s) without asking, or they ask, "Do you WANT a bag?"  I specifically ask them if they need a bag, and this gets them thinking, "Do I need a bag?"  Many times, the answer is no.  Compared to my coworkers, and lots of other cashiers, I issue far fewer plastic bags, which, of course, aren't good for the environment.  They are all over the place.  Innocent sea creatures attempt to eat them in the ocean, where there are tons of them.
Frequently, I don't even ask if they need a bag.  I just don't bag their stuff.  Sometimes, this leads to me getting attitude.  An elderly woman was buying some large items: too big to fit into our bags.  There was a box of lightbulbs that would fit into a bag, but she left it in her cart, and I scanned it there.  I didn't bag it.  It turns out her middle-aged son was there too.  He approached her as she was waiting for him near the exit.  He said, "You didn't get a bag for the bulbs?"  He seemed annoyed.  Then he bought something at my register.  Even though I heard this whole "bulb, bag" exchange, I still asked him if he needed a bag.  Some things (like the environment) matter more than pissing off some little shit.  I towered over him, on my anti-fatigue mat, my body language aggressive.  No, he didn't need a bag.  But, as he was walking away, he angrily ripped a bag from the dispenser for his mommy.  What will happen to that bag?  Will it be recycled?  I hope so.  But it's far too possible that it won't be.
I have trained others to do my job, and I have trained them to ask the customers if they need bags.  I heard one of my coworkers say, to a customer, "I put a bag around these just to keep them together."  I looked to see what she was talking about.  It was clearly a waste of a bag.  I wouldn't have used a bag for that.  I wouldn't have even asked the customer if she needed a bag for that.  But the customer was so impressed!  I thought no one in this wicked world cared about me, but someone does!  "Oh, thank you," she said.  So, you see, my coworker took the easy, wasteful way out.  She pleased the customer, but at what cost?  No less than the environment.  She betrayed the environment to please a common hag (a bag for a hag!  If he's still alive, her husband can reuse it by putting it over her face, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to have sex with her near carcass!).
Even though I have OCD, I have pulled paper out of the trash (gross) at work, so it could be recycled.  My shitty neighbors opened a box, that was addressed to the shitty tenants that lived in that apartment before them, and put the box outside the front door of the building that we (unfortunately) share.  They left it there for at least a week (They are lazy slobs.).  I considered calling the office about it, then I decided to dispose of it myself, so it could be recycled.  If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.        

I Still Love Squirrels

I love all of them.

I've seen so many squirrels in my lifetime, and, in my way, I've loved them all.  I still watch them.  They are not boring to me.  They are cute.
I tried to feed a squirrel that had climbed up a telephone pole.  She was hanging out there, ready to shimmy across the wire to the other side, when I jiggled the bag that held whole walnuts, which, of course, I bought for my squirrel neighbors.  She hesitated.  She seemed to be quite interested in what was going on, but she remained on her lofty perch.  I decided to toss a walnut toward the pole.  I thought she might come down and get it.  She didn't, though.  Instead, she shimmied across the wire toward the east.  I picked up the nut and tossed it onto the grass in front of my windows, hoping I'd see a squirrel get it.  I didn't, though.  The next day, I went out for a job interview, and, when I returned, the nut was gone.  I'm 99.9% sure a squirrel got it, and that's all that matters.
I used to spoil the squirrels around here with whole nuts.  I think either they've forgotten me doing this, or these are some new squirrels on the block.  When I jiggle the nut bag, they don't come hopping towards me like they used to.  On the contrary, the noise seems to scare them away.
Anyway, I had my chance with another squirrel.  She was tens of feet away.  I figured I'd toss the nut in front of her, she'd notice it, then she'd get it.  I threw it badly, though.  Instead of going as far as I wanted it to, it went high.  Give me a break, I was thinking.  Odds are, it would land on the grass.  There's more grass than sidewalk in that area.  Just my luck, it landed on the sidewalk with a loud sound.  The squirrel jumped at the noise, but she recovered quickly.  I think it took at most a second, if not less than one, for her to grab a piece of the nut after it had shattered on the sidewalk.  Then she took off.  She knew she had a rare treat, and she'd better go eat or bury it before another squirrel tried to take it away from her.