 The shifts spanned 24 to 72 hours. Carol would sit on a blue cushion watching the gold-rimmed clock tick. She and her mom would take turns sleeping on a cot and eating from their rice cooker. On the other hand, the outside world was in constant motion. People filling up their gas tanks to go to work, buying cigarettes, gathering to talk, and it wasn't always safe for Carol to leave the booth and go outside.