trying to comprehend futility

As most of you readers know, I over-see the practical goings on around the missions base from 12am-6am. Like keeping an eye on drunk people who stumble into the Prayer Room, making sure the carpet gets shampooed, chairs put in order, make sure people aren’t talking, keeping gangster types from lurking in the parking lot etc.

Every night at 3:40am ish, I witness one of the greatest daily acts of futility. The guy who delivers papers goes to fill the paper machine in front of IHOP. Only he only fills it with 1 paper. To put the 1 paper in, he has to put 50 cents in to  get the bin open. Sometimes the paper from the day before is still in there, sometimes it’s gone.

Either way the whole operation is making little profit. Whether a paper is actually bought or not doesn’t matter. He is still putting in 50 cents a day, emptying the change the next day then using 50 cents from the previous earning to yet again open up the bin.

All I have to say to the paper guy is this: Dude, put a few more in! Throw in 5 papers let the bin make a profit. Till that day comes I watch daily confounded by this futility.