Confessions of a Jersey Girl

I was at the local Trader Joe's the other night to pick up a few things and I was checking out the pita bread. This lady wearing a crazy hat was standing behind me so I asked politely if I was in her way. She made such a fuss about how she doesn't mind waiting patiently and how she doesn't understand why people always react to her that way. Since I didn't want to be rude I kept my thoughts to myself but I was thinking that maybe people react that way to her because a) she looks crazy with that silly hat, b) she's hovering so how else would a normal person react and c) maybe other people are trying to be polite as I was trying to be. Why is it that when I'm trying to be friendly, which can be hard for me sometimes since I get shy every now and then (leftover shyness from my childhood), I end up talking to kooks!

Once in downtown Seattle a couple of years ago a man who seemed normal enough asked me for the time. I told him thinking nothing of it and then he proceeds to tell me how his friend bought him a bus ticket to California and he tore it up. Then he went on some tirade about "the man." I couldn't get away fast enough.

Just once it would be nice to have an encounter with someone who shouldn't be on meds.