waited in a makeshift line at the customer service area where i thought waldbaum’s savings cards were distributed. two older men were ahead of me in line. the first man was returning a large cylindrical container of pretzel sticks. he looked unhappy. after his transaction he looked at me and said ‘alright, who’s next’ and i kind of smiled and bumped my head, wanting to convey some combination of ‘that’s nice please don’t say more’ and ‘i am not next in line.’ the next man wanted cigarettes. he said ‘marlboro gold pack.’ the customer service girl said ‘lights?’ he said ‘no, gold pack.’ she scanned the cigarettes, looked at him, and said ‘reds?’ the man said ‘no, gold pack, marlboro gold pack.’ she pointed and said ‘these?’ he said ‘yeah.’ she took the new pack, raised her eyebrows, and said ‘these are called ‘lights.” the man didn’t react in a way other than paying her. as he was paying i was preparing how to ask her for a waldbaum’s card in a way that would equalize the man’s ignorance about how they were called ‘lights.’ i would be the ‘less-bad’ customer, the spokeswoman for all ‘lesser-bad’ customers. thought ‘this might not be where you apply for waldbaum’s cards, but don’t ask. she doesn’t want to answer that. she’s already answered that like 20 times today. approach the counter with certainty. maybe roll your eyes at the guy. create a sense of comaraderie. no, too complicated, she might not get it. plus it would seem disingenuous. plus it’d make her think more about you than ‘this person wants a waldbaum’s card.” smiled and made eye contact with her. she looked like she was ‘on her last straw.’ thought ‘no matter what i say, she’s going to complain about this to her co-workers—more about the man than me—no, she doesn’t talk to her co-workers. she doesn’t talk to anyone. her rage is private. the unstoppable, silent, complaint-free, next level rage of a waldbaum’s employee on her last straw.’ i said ‘h-iii. i was wondering if i could get a waldbaum’s card?’ she said ‘here fill this out’ in a monotone and gave me a clipboard. under the clip were a stack of empty application forms. i took the clipboard to the counter and penciled my information in the top form’s blank spaces. felt a presence behind me. turned and saw a short smiling man, watching. stepped aside and gestured to him like ‘go ahead, i’m not in line.’ he said ‘good morning’ to the rage employee. thought “good morning.’ it’s almost 6PM. i like him.’ didn’t listen to their conversation but sensed the rage employee’s waves of chronic frustration. stopped writing today’s date below the words ‘TO BE MARKED BY STORE PERSONNEL ONLY.’ handed clipboard to the rage employee. thought ‘there is no way she cares that you wrote the date where you weren’t supposed to, no chit chat required, she is good, she wants as little from you as possible.’ she poked three cards from a perforated piece of plastic, handed them to me, said ‘there you go.’ i said ‘thank you.’