If this isn't the most absurd situation I've seen
in a checkout line, it's close. Maybe it ties with
the kid who threw the phoniest temper tantrum I've
ever seen in front of a doormat mother who obviously
lost control of her kid when he was very young.

There were two Chinese women in front of me, an
elderly one and a middle-aged one. The younger one
was translating for the older one, and as it turned
out, she didn't know her. She just volunteered to
translate, because the older woman didn't speak
any English at all.

As I stood there and learned more of the story,
it appeared the older woman was trying to return
a watch battery. She had the original packaging
for the battery, and the watch that the battery
was put into, but the problem was that the battery
was inside the watch. Nobody knew how to get the
battery out of the watch, and the clerk didn't want
to give a refund without getting the battery back.

Fortunately, the clerk rang up my bottle of beer
and can of olives while the women were making their
case for a refund. I don't know how it was resolved,
but I did give the poor clerk a smile in sympathy
with her dilemma.