Humans are creatures of habit. Humans are also easily distracted. Combine the two, and things can get embarrassingly messy. Such was the case on a recent walk with Dad.

Dad begins our daily morning walk by stuffing his pockets with poop bags. As we walk along, he tends to lose concentration on the task at hand, and will let his mind drift off to his to-do list for the day. Inevitably I will stop to do my business. At this point, while still distracted, Dad’s muscle memory will kick in, where he’ll automatically reach into his pocket, grab a bag, pick up the mess, tie the bag, and carry it on our walk.

Well not this time! Dad’s mind must have been on some sort of loop track, because after tying the bag, he automatically put it back into his pocket! I tried to draw his attention to what he did, but onward he walked, oblivious to his mistake and me. When we arrived back at the house I thought for sure he would realize what happened. But instead his assumed he must have forgot the bag on the side of the road, and figured he would return to get it on his next walk with Asa.

Now when walking with Asa, Dad was more focused. He knew he had to stay on the lookout for the missing poop bag. He also is naturally more focused on Asa, because one never knows what he’ll do on a walk. Well one thing Asa did do on this walk was his business. Like clockwork, Dad reached into his pocket to get a bag, and…well he discovered his earlier mistake!

Humans let this be a lesson: Always check your pockets!