The police officer in the social security office looked really board. He was playing games on his phone for a while, but eventually just passed the time staring blankly off into space ;) When I first arrived there were only a few other people there, all looking rather tired and board, melting into their seats.

The couple in front of me in the reception line struck me as rather odd. I heard the man telling the receptionist that he'd just had a stroke, which explained a lot. She was very cold, and I found myself thinking about how far a little friendliness might go from either side of the conversation.

As I sat around waiting, the woman who was handling forms went on break, and a very nice looking older asian man took over. The stroke victim was his first customer. As he worked with him and his wife, the room started to fill. They were up there for a good 30 minutes, while the number of people waiting went from around 6 to 30. I found myself both grateful for my lucky timing to have beat the big crowd, and annoyed that the only person entering forms was taking so long with one couple, although having the knowledge I did about their situation, not nearly as annoyed as I might have been otherwise.

When I came up to the window the employee smiled and informed me that he'd taken a long time with the guy because he'd just had a stroke, and was obviously very depressed. He said that he'd also had a stroke, and that he was trying to help the guy feel better, and felt that he'd succeeded somewhat. He said that the stroke victim had had to do things very slowly, and that the wife was crying.

Not sure how I feel about this whole situation. It is a shame there isn't a guy like the social security employee who people can council with in general, and that it is only lucky opportunity when they happen to run across one... and also a shame that there's not a way for them to come into contact without making thirty + people (probably 1-2 hundred by the time they catch up) wait an extra half hour to get their chores done. Perhaps some of those people have problems just as bad or urgent, or perhaps the traveling is difficult for them and the ones at the tail end will not be taken now before the office is closed.

It certainly is nice that the guy was considerate and friendly, and that he may have been able to make an important difference for someone. I'm glad that with my profession and time, if I want to work with someone extra I can without having to have a queue of other people paying in time as well.