The Continuing Story Of An Old Gal And Her Scratchers

Just when you think it's safe to go back to the left-side lottery machine at 10Box... 

It's really NOT! Which I discovered when I was yesterday years old. 

That left machine has been working for several weeks now. Rain or shine. No excuses about "cloudy weather." I was leery at first. I'd only scan in a simple $3 winner at first, to try it out. Then I wouldn't fret about getting a worker to open the machine if it took my money. I was willing to risk it. Of course if other people were there, I first observed whether they were having any problems with the left machine. If they got tickets out, I put in my money/winners.

So I thought nothing of using both machines yesterday. I had gone in for ice cream. That's what Farmer H and The Pony want for desert after our cookout on Thursday. I got some cherry chip ice cream, and regular cones and waffle cones. Then I got a box of Drumsticks, which Farmer H specifically requested. And also some chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bars on a stick. He had asked for Heath Bars, but 10Box didn't have them.

Anyhoo... after I checked out with enough sugar to put Farmer H into a coma, I wheeled over to the lottery machines. A woman and an old man were at the left machine. I don't know if they were together. The woman picked up tickets out of the tray, and said, "I'm going to get an attendant." I didn't know what that was about. I thought maybe she had scanned in a winner that didn't take. Sometimes they do that. They don't add it to the total, and if you try to scan again, it says already redeemed.

The Old Man saw me coming. He darted to the right machine. Then back to the left. He was muttering something, but not speaking directly to me. I scanned a $20 winner into the right machine, and got two Tetris, a Christmas Lights, and a crossword. The Old Man was getting tickets out of the tray of the left machine. Then he walked away.

I scanned in a $15 winner. I selected a crossword, a Tetris, and a Christmas Lights. As I was picking them up out of the tray, careful to put them with my other tickets so I could remember to mark which machine they had come out of... The Woman and a Manager came up behind me.

"Did you just get a crossword ticket?" asked Manager.

"Yes..." I was still trying to organize my tickets.

"THIS one?" asked Manager, as she pulled it from my hand. I didn't like that much. 

"I don't know. I'm trying to organize my tickets. I got some out of the other machine, too. But yes, I pushed that one to get a crossword, and I only have one in my hand."

"Yes. It would be THIS ONE, " said Manager. 

As if I was an idiot. Which maybe I AM, but at this time I was just confused because I was trying to count up my tickets and she had snatched one while I was still mentally counting. She wasn't rude or anything, just assuming I was on the same page as she was, when I was just about to turn it.

"THIS ONE. This half. She has the other half of it." Manager motioned to The Woman. "The machine didn't tear it right. So I'll take out two crosswords, and give you each one. So you can play your crosswords!"

That made perfect sense. The Woman and I declared that we both loved the crosswords, because they take longer to play. And the new Christmas Lights, which is very confusing.

"I'll give her the first one, because she bought one first. And you the second one." Manager handed us each a crossword ticket. "Then I'll have to write up a report about the torn ticket, to resolve the machine."

Yes. That was fair. But I wonder if the torn ticket was a winner. And if The Woman had a winner, on the ticket I was SUPPOSED to get out of the machine. You never know when such an odd occurrence will set up a big win.

My crossword lost. I suppose I'll never find out about the other two.