Put the Cart Back. It Is the Whole Test.

You are parked two spaces from the cart corral. It has stopped raining. Your conscience is clear of any excuse.

We would like to make something plain. There is no legal requirement to return a shopping cart. Nobody will hand you a prize. An employee will eventually collect it if you do not. So when you walk it back anyway, you are doing a tiny good thing for no reward at all, and that is the purest form of being a decent neighbor available in a parking lot.

Valid exceptions

We are reasonable. Here is the entire list:

• You have a baby in the car and cannot leave them.
• The weather has become dangerous rather than merely unpleasant.
• You have a mobility reason, in which case someone should really be helping you.

Invalid exceptions

It is someone’s job. It is, and their job should not be fetching a cart that is touching your bumper.

I was in a hurry. The corral is eleven steps away. You spent longer than that looking for your sunglasses.

The next time you are out there, wheel back a stray one that is not yours. You will feel unreasonably good for the rest of the day.