Grapes of Wrath Chapter 15

Route 66 is lined with hamburger stands. Each one has the same long bar lined with stools. Each one has a similar menu and decor. One irritated waitress, Mae, only treats truck drivers well. She reasons that they are the only customers that have a chance to come back.

Some times a rich, unhappy couple on vacation will stop in their fancy car. Mae knows this type. They only mess up the place and complain about the food. Truck drivers do not complain. They try to enjoy their break. Two truck drivers pull in. Mae welcomes them by name. They put on some music and tell jokes. While they are eating, a sedan loaded with mattresses and pots and pans pulls up. The man in the sedan asks Mae for some water for his radiator. Then he asks if he can buy a loaf of bread for ten cents. Mae says she only sells sandwiches. The man explains that he has to feed his whole family on a dime. She says she only has fifteen-cent loaves. Her husband tells her to give them the bread for ten cents. The man's two kids are eyeing the candy in the store, and the man asks if some peppermint sticks are penny candy. Mae says they are two for a penny, so he buys two and leaves. The truck driver tells Mae the peppermints are nickel candy. When the drivers leave, Mae notices that they have both left fifty cents for their fifteen-cent bills.

Topic Tracking: Humanity 4

Mae husband takes a bunch of nickels out of the register and feeds them into one of their three slot machines till he gets the jackpot. He keeps track of when the slot machines pay out, and makes sure the nickels go into his register.