Wednesday evening we went by the mall to get Ian, our foreign exchange student from Taiwan, some winter clothes, Taiwan being a tropical island. Among the things he needed was a better pair of shoes, which he picked out at Footlocker. It was getting late, but we were only behind one person waiting for the cashier, so things looked hopeful. I zoned out a little in an attempt to be patient, but after a few minutes realized that there was trouble with this person’s credit card. The machine wasn’t reading it. After several problem solving attempts, the two burly young men working on it pulled out (gasp) a carbon copy form and the device to make appropriate marks on said carbons. I laughed. It has been quite a while since I’ve seen one of those. My boredom was further relieved as I watched them try to figure out how to use it. Which way is right-side up for the card and how do you pull that bar piece over the forms? Another phone call to the management got them through the process, though in a somewhat embarrassed state. They were pleasant young men, but their bearing and attire indicated that they were used to self-confidence. It did make them feel better to know that they had entertained us while we had our unusually long wait.
About me
Daily Improvisations is a project by Laura Blodgett
If you want to know more about what I’m up to and where to read about it, here is a summary!