I noticed a certain phenomenon late Tuesday night, when I had to go to the big city to pick up a package of cigarettes at a convenience store.
As I wasn't doing anything else in particular, I purchased a cup of coffee too, and sat at a table, watching the show in front of me.
About 11:55 p.m., a woman known to me to be on the governmental teat came in, and stood around, until midnight. Then she went to the ATM (automated teller machine), and withdrew $40.
After which she went to the counter and requested a $1 lottery scratch-ticket.
She got it, and I thought she was going to leave, but no, she stood there, scratching off the grey matter on the ticket.
It was obviously not a winner, so she requested a second $1 lottery ticket.
That too was not a winner, but the third ticket was, for a free $1 lottery ticket.
The clerk explained to her that the computer for the lottery system had shut down at midnight, and so he couldn't redeem the ticket until circa 6:00 a.m., when the computer came back on line again. The lottery system does not shut down at midnight--I think it's usually 1:30 a.m.--but the clerk had shut it down early this particular night, "because if they win and get paid the winnings, they hang around longer."
(The above was explained to me later.)
The woman appeared perplexed, but then purchased a fourth $1 lottery ticket.
This went on and on, until the woman had used up all of her $40, buying one $1 lottery ticket at a time. A few appeared to be winners--in the $1-3 range, judging upon her reaction--but most weren't.
Having run out of her initial $40, the woman went back to the ATM machine and withdrew another $40.....and again purchased tickets one at a time, a dollar at a time.
Now, I'm aware that to most of the general public, who zip-and-zap in-and-out of convenience stores, that there's this impression that overnight clerks have nothing to do other than stand in front of the cash register all night long.
Which is an utterly erroneous impression; I've always noticed that night clerks have a great deal of work to do in the middle of the night, usually clean-up and stocking work. Which they can't get done if there's too many customers coming-and-going.
I've done this sort of work, and at night, here and there, myself.
This clerk, this kid, was balled-and-chained to the cash register by this ticket-purchasing woman, buying her tickets one at a time.
After a couple more $40 withdrawals from the ATM machine, the woman switched to buying $2, and then $3 lottery tickets, slowly working her way up to the $5 and $10 tickets.
One at a time.
I was intrigued, and kept count. The woman made 11 trips to the ATM machine, withdrawing $40 each time, for a total of $440. It's true that she won here and there, but her "winnings" didn't appear to come close to her investments; maybe a couple of hundred bucks in all; it might have been more like circa $150.
She was there from 11:55 p.m. until 2:15 a.m., usually that time things are "slow" at such stores (at least around here), and that time a clerk can do all of the cleaning and stocking chores--but no, the kid was stuck at the counter, dealing with her one-at-a-time purchases.
I really felt for him; she was wasting his time.
I dunno why she just didn't make a one-time purchase of $440 of lottery tickets, and leave him at peace to do his job, a job which is NOT that of working in a casino.
Has anyone else ever noticed this phenomenon, or is it just me?
