I picked up to items at the grocery store and went to one of the three
express checkout lines, and chose this one because there was only one
person at it, and she was all rung up and in the process of paying. Five
minutes later I was wondering if I should change lanes or stay there and
witness the spectacle. I opted to stay because of the entertainment value.

The woman's bill was $11.86, which I remember because I heard it so many
times as she counted out her change. Her purse wasn't that big and
didn't seem to have that many compartments, but it was stuffed with
crap, and, it seems, there was a lot of change in it.

First she got a Toonie and a Loonie, a few quarters,some nickels, dimes
and pennies. She gives up counting it and asks the cashier to do it,
but she's only up to about four and a half bucks. So she rummaged
around and puled out another handful of small coins, and the cashier had
to start all over. Then the woman rummaged around and pulled out
another handful of mixed coins. This went on and on, with this woman
pulling out 50-60 cents at a time until she finally had enough.

I was tempted to say something but, despite her normal appearance, this
woman was obviously not quite right. When the woman finally left I
congratulated the cashier for keeping her cool and told her that I
figured that my total would be under $10 and I had $20 bill ready to pay.