The Occasional Odd Thought

"I want to tell them that I understand why they want my money. But in that moment I am also angry that they want it. I am angry that I am inconvenienced and afraid. I look around again for a server, desperate for a Coke or a Pepsi. Any soda at all. As the men continue to talk amongst themselves, I regain calmness, even feeling like the situation may be under control. But then they motion for the largest and toughest-looking askari to have a crack at me. The chief."