I often go to a convenience store to buy my lunch.

What I buy is just something with enough vegetable. Rice balls and vegetable, noodles with vegetable, and the like.

The other day, after eating Chinese noodles with vegetable for lunch, I wanted to throw away wastes, including used chopsticks, and put all things into a plastic bag. ( Mind you, I won't throw away a tooth pick. I take it back home and collect them. I have never bought tooth picks in, say, more than ten years.)

While walking toward the dust bin, I unintentionally dropped the chopsticks on the ground of the parking lot, so I picked them up and started to walk toward the bin again. Suddenly applause occurred.

What??

When I looked back, there was a man, perhaps in his sixties, clapped his hands joyously. I couldn't understand why at first. So I continued to stare at him. Then he said,

"Holly! You are great, you are honored!!"

? Picking up chopsticks? Was that so remarkable??

So I thought, "You are the one who should be praised. No one but you would make such a big deal out of just picking up chopsticks."