Day in Time

A small line coiled around the register. Muffled groans and comments raced down our grapevine. Hands grasped their plastic cards as feet kicked the dirty floor underneath them. Still, the line stood where it was for the last ten or so minutes, waiting for one single individual to complete their purchase.

"Card Expired." The machine continued to repeat that statement as the woman continued to pull plastic card after plastic card from her large wallet. "Card Expired." The woman continued to try another one. "Card Expired." Angry stares moved from her to the few groceries in the machine. "Card Expired."

"Lady, pick a freaking card that works!" One man closer to her only held a carton of milk, eggs, and bread. "I have to be somewhere, so move it along."

"Yeah," another woman chimed as she held a basket full of cereal boxes, cookies, and soda.

"This is what happens when machines replace humans," but nobody seemed to hear or even care what I just said as I held in my basket the necessary items for when I washed and cleaned. "Maybe if there was another machine that worked, we wouldn't be on line this long." A few grunts were my only response.

"Card Approved." The woman was a crimson red as she moved away from the line.

"Finally!" The man with the milk, eggs and bread nearly slammed his contents into the machine. "And my card works!" He grinned from ear to ear as he swiped the card, but the woman had already bolted out of the grocery store.

"At least, the line moved," an old woman in front of me muttered.

Catching my attention, I turned to stare at the wide, flat screen TV over the windows of the grocery store. The young reporter was giving the latest updates on the country and on the world. Images of unemployment lines, protests, and raids decorated her background as she continued to read from the teleprompter nearby. Never once did she blink or even let go of her smile, and I wondered if she was truly real or one of those latest holographic anchors that were becoming the next big thing for TV.