in passing

I saw a woman steal today. I was at Starbucks. She sat outside until it got kind of busy then walked in, perused the drinks and snacks in the open cooler by the register, calmly picked up a cup of yogurt/fruit/granola (you know the ones you mix together). Then she held it low, walked to the bathroom and emerged about 15 minutes later empty handed. 

It was obvious to me that she had 1. done this many times before or 2. was an extremely good first time thief.

 

I thought about mentioning something to the staff, even offering to pay for the item since it was food and, besides clepto's, who steals food except the hungry. I mean she went straight to the bathroom and downed the thing. I did think about it, and the thought came back to me as I kept letting it slip away into the obnoxiously loud house music. I could walk up to the register and say, "I'm pretty sure a woman just walked into the bathroom with a  cup of fruit and is most likely eating it right now". I definitely could have done that, but I didn't. 

I have no regrets about not saying anything to the Starbucks people, but I do wonder if I could have helped her. You know, maybe bought her some food at the grocery store across the street or something. But I also wonder how to approach someone in mid thievery, point out their act and offer to help in a more, well, legal way and not completely strip them of any dignity they cling to. I mean it's not like she was stealing a pair of fancy shoes just to have them. It was food. People take food when they need to eat.

Here's the tricky part, or at least the part that pretty much left me pondering. You may have asked how I noticed said lady stealing in a crowded Starbucks, or how I noticed her outside before she even came in and did the deed. I can honestly say it was only because of her appearance. She was extraordinarily obese and acted the part of the absent minded, sociall awkward, complete with a stomach scratching sequence all the way to the bathroom to devour her loot. Now I know she was most likely pretty hungry, but you don't get to be that heavy without a consistent food source and I can't believe she could steal that much food...I mean, that is a lot of fruit cups. 

I am very much open to other options but my first thoughts were 

a. she must steal A LOT of food and be very good at it to not get caught

b. she must be extremely hungry to risk so much for so little food

c. OR maybe she does have other options for nurishment but her sense of morals is overrun by her immediate desire for food.

and d. could I have even offered anything she needed or was she going to come back and steal a fruit cup regardless of whether or not I filled a grocery bag for her.

who knows. All I can say is it happened. I saw it, I've thought about it since and would love to know your thoughts.