Starbucks is a great place (or not so great a place) to learn a lot about human nature and greed.

The greed part was having to pay $3.65 for a latte. That nasty human nature part was sharing a table with a guy in a suit, with a computer and a cell phone. It's always amazing what total strangers will share with you (and those within earshot) while talking on their phones. Not that I was ease dropping but how could I help. He was loud and pretty proud of the way he screwed some folks during his normal business day.

From his many calls in 30 min and the topics he covered, it was obvious he was an attorney of some kind. Mostly it had to do with real estate deals but he took a lot of pleasure describing how he managed to come out on top and make some pretty good money. To one guy he said, "Thanks for the referral, I owe you 5% of the total settlement."

One phrase that really bothered me was when he said to the guy on the other end of the line, "Yea, we really played him like a piano" From the rest of the conversation it was obvious he,"we",they took this poor piano guy to the cleaners and picked his pocket at the same time. I really wanted to ask him, "How does one play someone like a piano?" but he never got off the phone and my phone was ringing that it was time to come home.

So I left him a note on a napkin. It said, "How does one 'play him like a piano'? I hope you can search your heart for a better way."

When I got home it hit me that I should have left my number or card or something. But honestly the fear of confronting a total stranger in Starbucks I think kind of froze my brain. 

I'll keep hanging out at "my other office" not really for a pricey cup of coffee but to learn more why it is that this sick old sinful world needs a saviour. Next time I sit with a loud rich lawyer at my table, I just might ask him to sell all he has and give it to the poor. Or is that line already taken?