The Petition (Revision)

The Petition The political guy accosted me at the entrance to the BART. 'Are you a registered California voter? ' I had to admit I was. Bright and cheery: 'I've got three petitions for you to sign—for clean water, clean air, and education.' My guard went up. It always goes up. I glanced at the petition, saw the phrase 'cigarette tax'. I'd heard a radio show about its pros and cons— some educated people believe it will take money away from education, because people will quit smoking, rather than pay so much. To his standard pitch, I gave my standard response: 'Oh, that's the cigarette tax. I don't know...' 'That's the one for education! ' he patiently explained, but his patience was fading a little. 'I'm not gonna sign today, but can you tell me the proposition numbers, so I can do some research? ' 'Just forget it! ' he said, withdrawing the petition along with any pretense of patience, so I couldn't sign it even if I had a sudden change of heart, and couldn't even see the numbers. 'OK, ' I said, descending into the escalator, and I was the cheery one now. Max Reif