Mrs. HM, The Convenient Traveling Educator

I do my best to enlighten society. Mostly the local Hillmomban society of convenience store clerks. Wouldn't that be a good name for their organization, if they banded together to demand higher pay and more humane working conditions?

Once an educator, always an educator! That's selfless Mrs. Hillbilly Mom! Sometimes, not by choice.

I had a winning scratcher so old that it was bereft of barcode. There's a line of 12 numbers across the bottom, and a 3-digit code hidden somewhere on the face of the ticket, that need to be manually entered on the MoLottery terminal. It can also be done on a phone or computer, but that will only tell the ticket-holder what they won. The terminal is used for paying winners.

Anyhoo... the little gal in the Hillmomba Casey's didn't know what to make of that ticket. I'm sure she's been working there a while. These old tickets are sold just a couple blocks down the street, at Country Mart. I'm sure other winners take them to Casey's for redemption. You don't have to take them back to the place of purchase. Li'l Gal said, "I don't even know what to do with this!"

I leaned over the counter, and pointed out the numbers I had already uncovered. "You have to manually enter these numbers, and then this code up here."

Li'l Gal turned to the Other Clerk, bemoaning her ignorance. Other Clerk pretty much said she was on her own. Not in so many words. The words being, "Oh, you've never done one of those? I can help whoever is next!"

Funny how Other Clerk couldn't find a pack of Camel Silver cigarettes, and Li'l Gal kindly stopped what she was doing with my ticket (which was absolutely nothing) to turn and show Other Clerk the Camel Silvers. Then she started poking that lottery terminal in a frenzy. After a couple of false starts, and a couple of apologies for taking so long, she got the job done.

"That's okay. I don't like typing them in at home, either. Now you know how to do it!"

Li'l Gal was quite pleasant. I don't mind waiting if they're learning a new skill. Even though a man at the next register asked for THE EXACT TWO TICKETS that I was waiting to buy. I bought them anyway. One of mine won $5. I hope he didn't get a $100,000 winner right ahead of me!