Signals
Many factors can wreak havoc on one's confidence. An encounter with a self checkout machine at Walmart, for instance.... Mary and I found ourselves in High Point, NC, with some extra time on our hands, so we stopped and shopped at a Walmart that our phone sent us to on our way to check out the new giant troll someone built out of wood in an industrial section of High Point. I got some eye drops and Mary got some apples, ketchup, etc. on the opposite side of the big store. We met at aisle 1, where we spotted an "available" self checkout spot. We did our usual routine with speed and efficiency. She handed me an item. I scanned it ("Beep") and bagged it. What great teamwork, I thought, as I scanned the last item. Then we looked at the screen: "This machine is unavailable. Please use another one." Mary noticed a light on a pole above the machine was red. I wondered why we were allowed to scan everything. We placed the last bag into the cart and off we went...
