Banana

Being a typical New Yorker, I raced out of my apartment this morning just in time to make it to my first meeting of the day. Since I hadn’t had time to prepare a proper breakfast, I grabbed a banana for the walk to work.

Racing down the stairs with banana in hand, my multitasking began. By the time I was out on the street I had already peeled the banana, and I was mostly finished eating it even before I made that first left turn at Washington Square.

I was ready to discard the empty peel well before I passed the first garbage bin out on the street. On some level I think I was quite pleased with the efficiency of my banana meal.

After all, how many people manage their first meal of the day, start to finish, without losing even a second out of their schedule? Tossing the peel into the trash, I happened to glance into the bin.

There was nothing in it at all, except for other people’s discarded banana peels.