Decades: Chunks of Time

I just got an SMS from Vicky, about Mobile Money provided by MTN. As a typical Nigerian, the first point of call on the mobile money site for me was the Tariffs section. According to the tariff page , to deposit, register, buy airtime, check balance and pay bills is free. To withdraw by an unregistered customer is free as well as the accounts subscription, and SMS traffic generated by transactions. But after that, the charges start piling up: Mini Statement = NGN10. Registered customer's withdrawal of NGN3,000 and less will cost NGN50. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 will cost NGN100. Registered customer's withdrawal of between NGN6,001 and NGN9,000 will cost NGN150. Registered customer's withdrawal of above NGN9,000 will cost NGN200. To send to a Registered customer, it will cost you NGN50. To send NGN3,000 or less to an unregistered customer will cost you NGN120. To send between NGN3,001 and NGN6,000 to an unregistered cus...

Are there any more Good Samaritans in this world? Something happened to me today - I got to the office and remembered that I had to buy airtime onto the phone I use to browse. I dropped all, took some money, and practically ran to the store that sells the cards. I got there, placed an order, and then dipped my hands into my pocket, and drew empty. I traced my path back to the office, and noticed some oddities. There is a phone kiosk on the way to the store, and while I was hurrying past, there were a lot of guys standing by it. When I passed, they hushed up, and I was thinking it was because of my hair do (yeah I had my hair done on Friday, didn't want to enter the new month looking that raggedy). As I retraced my steps, I noticed that they were not there - only seconds later. Even the guard that I had greeted five seconds earlier had disappeared. It didn't take all of five seconds, all of it. And the money was gone. Thinking I had left it in my hurry in the office, I went stra...