LXVII. Read a Room. January 25, 2021

>driving Lyft

>stop at a gas station for a Monster and a scratch-off

>there is a line

>eight or nine folks in the store

>I am the only white person

>large Black dude in front of me is buying scratch-offs

>lots of them

>lady behind the counter is patient

>none of the rest of us are

>guy drops at least three hundred dollars on various $20 and $30 scratch-offs

>starts scratching even as lady is bringing more

>lady says “Damn baby, I hope you win”

>old dude behind me says “Hey man, you know that lottery is a scam. You just wasting your money”

>scratch-off guy keeps scratching, says “Some people win though”

>old dude says “Yeah, that’s how they get you. Ask yourself WHO wins that stuff, and you’ll see it”

>guy behind him says “Yeah, I seen a video online where a guy bought a bunch of tickets and the guy behind him in line only bought one and hit”

>I say “Man, I sure hope that happens. I’m right behind this guy”

>everyone goes silent and looks at me

>lady behind the counter says “Baby, don’t say that stuff in here”

>welp

>time to go