"Excuse me, but that’s my cart."

I was at our local Albertsons crowded as usual! with a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow and his wife were pushing a cart when another man stopped them. "Excuse me," the second man said, "but that’s my cart."

The first guy looked annoyed and, instead of apologizing, protested, "But someone took my cart." His wife glared at him, and he reluctantly relinquished his ill-gotten gain.

He had ignored the age-old wisdom: "Two wrongs don’t make a right" in favor of a distorted version of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as others have done unto you."

Then there are the folks who change their mind about buying an item and put it on the nearest shelf, rationalizing that the store hires people to put misplaced things back. Schools employ custodians to clean the halls, but does that mean it’s okay for kids to throw their candy wrappers on the floor?

Finally, there are the express-line cheaters who enter the "10 items or less" line with 14 items because they’re in a hurry or they love having a competitive edge. They count on the fact that no one will call them on such a moral misdemeanor. And if someone does, they’re ready to play lawyer: "It depends on what you call an item. These melons are part of the fruit group so I count them as one."

Being considerate, playing by the rules, and setting a good example are important, even in the grocery store.