Ask Amy: The other shopper stole a grocery bag. Should I have told on him?

Dear Amy: I live in Southern California. The state is encouraging people to bring reusable bags to the store, but if you don’t have your own bags, you can purchase a plastic bag from the store for a dime.

The store I go to has an employee watching over the self-checkout. They will provide bags to those who need to buy them.

Today I was using the self-checkout register. I had my own bag.

A man next to me reached into the employee’s kiosk area and took a plastic bag for his groceries. The store employee didn’t see what he’d done. She did ask if he needed a bag, and he said no.

My question for you is, should I have told the employee what I’d witnessed?

Someone I told my story to said that it was only a dime so it’s not a huge deal. My response was that stealing is stealing no matter the amount involved.

I didn’t report what I’d seen, but it is bothering me.

Torn in Southern California

Dear Torn: At my supermarket self-checkout, right before you pay you are asked how many store-provided bags you’ve used, and the cost of those bags is added to the total.

The man told the clerk he didn’t need a bag because he’d already helped himself to one.

Perhaps you should assume that, when prompted, he added the cost of his bag to the total before paying.

To answer the question of whether you should turn someone in if you think they might have taken a dime’s worth of merchandise: No, I don’t think you should.

Petty dishonesty has an amazing way of nudging the karmic wheel. That dude’s plastic bag might have split on his way to the car.

Dear Amy: I am a woman in a sexless relationship, which is also lacking in affection. We’ve been together off and on (mostly on) for 25 years.