skit #21: Form 7780-E

Caseworker Sanchez transcribes her notes, efficiently producing words in the cold mechanical vernacular only ancient keyboards speak. Form 7780-E is not well-suited for her most recent client. CLIENT ID# 004040223 was serially generated, though hardly unique; If it was not a Ms Balmiki, it would have been a Ms Hererra or a Ms Ureole.

BIRTH NAME, unknown, renounced and replaced at a young age. SSN, none, born outside the United States and never naturalized. NATIONALITY, disputed internationally, born in rural Kashmir. DOB, approximate, an estimate between 43 and 45 found no haven in DD/MM/YYYY. ADDRESS, TELEPHONE, CLOSEST OF KIN, blank, blank, blank.

OCCUPATION elicited a contemplative silence from Ms Balmiki, who eventually asserted that everyone must eat and have a bed to sleep in. The mutual understanding that Ms Balmiki knew that Caseworker Sanchez knew that Ms Balmiki prostitutes was clear though tacit. Caseworker Sanchez checks the box advising a gynecological examination.

HISTORY is the first field on 7780-E to permit a response exceeding twenty characters in length. Ms Balmiki was born a child to a farmer whose fathers were farmers who commented, "My daddy wanted me to be just like him, but I could never be a great man." She fled from the labor of the farm to the alleys of Srinagar, never to return. She eked out an urchin's existence on rinds and rupees. At the age of thirteen, a festival-turned-bacchanal rendered her paraplegic under the jubilant dance steps of celebrating feet. Caseworker Sanchez checks the box approving eligibility for disability checks.

Ms Balmiki wistfully reported, "The women of the street took me as mothers do daughters. I knew I would one day be a woman of the street, also. When my age turns to 14, they remove my [genitals]," Caseworker Sanchez edits what must be a mistranslation, as Ms Balmiki is vague and presumably means the clitoris, "in order to become a woman [of the street]. My mothers laugh that paralysis under the hips is a gift from the gods." Caseworker Sanchez notes some evident nuances eluded her limited Hindi. "I took the name of my mother, Bhabani Balmiki." Caseworker Sanchez tentatively marks F under GENDER.

Under SKILLS, Caseworker Sanchez notes Ms Balmiki speaks employable English, though she often appears confused by verbal conjugation and pronoun-referent relationships. Also noted, Ms Balmiki displayed severe dismay that she may not fit in anywhere in Acton, Ohio, "no money, no legs, no [genitals], no children, no lovers." Ms Balmiki concluded "maybe I will one day have money and lovers" with an optimism otherwise absent throughout the interview. Caseworker Sanchez checks the box affirming WILLING TO WORK.