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I've seen some stories recently that made me think of one from a couple of years ago.
At the time, I lived in my hometown, and worked graveyard shift at a local c-store. It was a small town, so I knew most everyone who visited by reputation if not by name. There was this one group of druggie deadbeats who showed up more frequently than I cared to see them. They really didn't cause that many problems, so I tolerated them. They knew that I had a permanently short fuse and low bullshit tolerance due to perpetual lack of sleep that came for me with graveyard shift, so they behaved themselves in the store. Plus, they wanted to avoid the police as much as possible for fear of being busted. Most of them were in and out of jail that much anyway.
So, one night, this girl who ran with that crowd came in and locked herself in the restroom. She was fighting with her dealer/pimp/boyfriend, whatever he was to her. Anytime I'd ever seen her in the store, she looked so vacant and distant. I couldn't even begin to imagine how wasted she must be. I would have felt sorry for her had it not been for the fact that I believe in personal responsibility for one's self. Anyway, you get to watching these same people come and go night after night, you develop a sort of rapport with them even if you wouldn't trust them an inch not to steal you blind for drug money at the first chance they got. What I thought was sad was that she could probably have been a real attractive girl had it not been for the drugged out look.
Anyway, the dealer/pimp/boyfriend came in, and tried to talk her out of the restroom. I found him annoying, but he'd never really acted out of line toward me when he'd been in the store, so I tolerated him. He gave up after a couple of minutes. I'd already taken the cordless phone to the back to notify the police that I had a situation, but the police were always slow to respond. There was just never an officer available unless it was an absolute emergency, it seemed. WHATEVER! I just rolled my eyes in disgust, as usual, and watched the drama unfold. So, the boyfriend comes up to the counter, and starts chatting at me.
I go about some busy work behind the counter in an attempt to stay awake and fight off the boredom I'm feeling at being there. So, he's chatting at me about why they're fighting, and I'm only half listening. In the midst of it, I hear him make a comment about her being so stupid and burned out, and that the only reason he was bothering to be with her at all was because she had big boobs. The only response I could muster up was to just give him the raised eyebrow/eyeroll combination. Words couldn't even begin to describe the thoughts running through my mind. I was that tired of work anyway. I just kept on working, not even bothering to pretend to listen at that point. I guess he must have gotten the hint because he suddenly shut up and left. He left her there. She came out after a couple of minutes, and asked to use the phone to call someone to come get her. She never said much about any of it, but she did apologize for being a pain. I accepted the apology at face value, and told her that she could wait around. It was cold and rainy out that night, and I saw no sense in anyone waiting out in the cold rain like that. My only thought the whole time she waited for someone else to get her was to wonder how someone could let themselves go like that.
As for the dealer/pimp/boyfriend, it's not like he had much to offer her except for drugs and maybe some drug money. All he had otherwise was a balding head of hair and a disgusting beer gut. He just looked like one of those shady drug dealer/porno directors who thinks he's cool, but isn't.
Literally, such characters always seem to reaffirm my lack of faith in humanity.
At the time, I lived in my hometown, and worked graveyard shift at a local c-store. It was a small town, so I knew most everyone who visited by reputation if not by name. There was this one group of druggie deadbeats who showed up more frequently than I cared to see them. They really didn't cause that many problems, so I tolerated them. They knew that I had a permanently short fuse and low bullshit tolerance due to perpetual lack of sleep that came for me with graveyard shift, so they behaved themselves in the store. Plus, they wanted to avoid the police as much as possible for fear of being busted. Most of them were in and out of jail that much anyway.
So, one night, this girl who ran with that crowd came in and locked herself in the restroom. She was fighting with her dealer/pimp/boyfriend, whatever he was to her. Anytime I'd ever seen her in the store, she looked so vacant and distant. I couldn't even begin to imagine how wasted she must be. I would have felt sorry for her had it not been for the fact that I believe in personal responsibility for one's self. Anyway, you get to watching these same people come and go night after night, you develop a sort of rapport with them even if you wouldn't trust them an inch not to steal you blind for drug money at the first chance they got. What I thought was sad was that she could probably have been a real attractive girl had it not been for the drugged out look.
Anyway, the dealer/pimp/boyfriend came in, and tried to talk her out of the restroom. I found him annoying, but he'd never really acted out of line toward me when he'd been in the store, so I tolerated him. He gave up after a couple of minutes. I'd already taken the cordless phone to the back to notify the police that I had a situation, but the police were always slow to respond. There was just never an officer available unless it was an absolute emergency, it seemed. WHATEVER! I just rolled my eyes in disgust, as usual, and watched the drama unfold. So, the boyfriend comes up to the counter, and starts chatting at me.
I go about some busy work behind the counter in an attempt to stay awake and fight off the boredom I'm feeling at being there. So, he's chatting at me about why they're fighting, and I'm only half listening. In the midst of it, I hear him make a comment about her being so stupid and burned out, and that the only reason he was bothering to be with her at all was because she had big boobs. The only response I could muster up was to just give him the raised eyebrow/eyeroll combination. Words couldn't even begin to describe the thoughts running through my mind. I was that tired of work anyway. I just kept on working, not even bothering to pretend to listen at that point. I guess he must have gotten the hint because he suddenly shut up and left. He left her there. She came out after a couple of minutes, and asked to use the phone to call someone to come get her. She never said much about any of it, but she did apologize for being a pain. I accepted the apology at face value, and told her that she could wait around. It was cold and rainy out that night, and I saw no sense in anyone waiting out in the cold rain like that. My only thought the whole time she waited for someone else to get her was to wonder how someone could let themselves go like that.
As for the dealer/pimp/boyfriend, it's not like he had much to offer her except for drugs and maybe some drug money. All he had otherwise was a balding head of hair and a disgusting beer gut. He just looked like one of those shady drug dealer/porno directors who thinks he's cool, but isn't.
Literally, such characters always seem to reaffirm my lack of faith in humanity.
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