He Was Probably On His Way To Take Candy From A Baby, Rain On A Parade, And Deposit A Turd In A Punch Bowl

What in the NOT-HEAVEN is wrong with people???

Thursday, I was in the Sis-Town Casey's, pre-paying for gas (the nozzle is back on Pump 4!) and buying scratchers. I was getting a ticket for The Pony to thank him for taking Farmer H to surgery. He will be getting several tickets in place of gas money. His choice. Plus he used his vacation time to get a day off to help out. 

Anyhoo... I was getting The Pony a $50 ticket! I don't buy them for myself. But when I told The Pony how much I had budgeted for his payment, he asked for a $50 ticket. It was already on the counter with my $3 tickets, and the cashier was ringing them up.

"I hate to tell you, but your $50 ticket is probably a loser!"

Sweet Gummi Mary! A guy in line behind me felt the need to blurt this out.

"Because I just had a winner. What is yours, number 8 or number 10? I had number 9."

"It's number 10. And it's for my son, not for me. I'll be sure not to tell him that."

"Oh, what did you win?" asked the cashier, who must have sold it to him.

"Fifty dollars."

Well. That's the minimum on that ticket. You can't win less than you paid for a scratcher.

Anyhoo... here's my point. WHAT A D!CK !!! WHY would somebody blurt that out to spoil your enjoyment of your ticket? People buy lottery for the HOPE of winning something good. And this guy was taking away hope. For no reason whatsoever. It would be different if he had a big winner, and was excited and wanted to share. But money back is not a big winner.

It's not like I could shove that ticket back, and tell the cashier I didn't want it. Technically, I suppose I COULD, because I had not yet handed her the money. But that would be a voided transaction and extra wait time for everybody in line.

Maybe this will be one of those rare instances when there are back-to-back winners. We won't know until Sunday, when The Pony scratches the ticket.

I shared that story with the Country Mart deli worker who always talks to me about lottery. She was standing outside on a smoke break when I got out of T-Hoe. After hearing the tale, she said, "Asshole."