I was at a craft store the other day looking for yarn so I could get a head start on all the baby blankets I get to knit next year (yay for babies that I can play with and then hand back to mommy or daddy when they poop or pee or cry or spit up or do anything else that isn’t cute). I was at one end of an aisle of yarn and I could hear people on the other end of the aisle talking about what colors would look better together, white and mint green or white and hunter green. I noticed that the woman’s companion didn’t seem to care either way because he or she (probably a he…no offense) was not participating in the conversation at all! I finally felt so bad for this woman who was just looking for someone to share in her excitement and turmoil of buying the perfect yarn that I decided to chime in.
“I would go with the mint green,” I called to her as I looked down to see what kind of a jerk this woman was dealing with. I mean, even if her friend didn't knit, they could at least pretend to be excited.
But I was a little shocked to discover that this woman was standing entirely alone.
“Excuse me?” she said as she narrowed her eyes and glared back at me. It took me a second to realize that she was pissed.
“Oh, I was just saying that I would go with the mint green,” I repeated myself with careful pronunciation sure that she must have heard me wrong. It was the only logical explanation as to why she would be so pissed off.
She continued to glare back at me.
“I think it will look good with the white. Not as much of a contrast…you know.” I tried again, still not sure what I had done wrong.
“Well, thanks,” she said in that way where a person is saying thanks out loud, but really they are saying, “I hate your face" on the inside.
I found myself wanting to apologize to her for violating her privacy, meddling, or for eavesdropping on her conversation…with herself. But no! I would not apologize for listening in on her conversation…that she was having with herself...out loud.
Look, don't get me wrong. Everyone talks to themselves at some point during the day. But either that happens in your car, in your empty home, or you do it in a quiet, quiet voice that is barely audible to anybody else near you. But no. Here in the middle of Hobby Lobby was a woman who was having a full on, projected conversation with herself. And apparently herself was hard of hearing. And she had the nerve to get mad at me for hearing her conversation that she was having aloud with herself in the middle of the store.
I wanted to walk over to her and tell her that there was this new technology that was really changing the way people conduct themselves in public places. Reiventing the world quicker than the Industrial Revolution or Internet. It’s this really innovative gadget called cognition. It’s amazing what it allows you to accomplish. You can actually think about something, anything really, without saying it out loud…isn’t that the coolest app you’ve ever heard of? Insanity. What will they think of (silently) next?
But instead, I said “Excuse me,” picked up my yarn, and headed to the front of the store thankful that I didn’t inherit the (hopefully recessive) gene that causes people to talk to themselves in public places.
“I would go with the mint green,” I called to her as I looked down to see what kind of a jerk this woman was dealing with. I mean, even if her friend didn't knit, they could at least pretend to be excited.
But I was a little shocked to discover that this woman was standing entirely alone.
“Excuse me?” she said as she narrowed her eyes and glared back at me. It took me a second to realize that she was pissed.
“Oh, I was just saying that I would go with the mint green,” I repeated myself with careful pronunciation sure that she must have heard me wrong. It was the only logical explanation as to why she would be so pissed off.
She continued to glare back at me.
“I think it will look good with the white. Not as much of a contrast…you know.” I tried again, still not sure what I had done wrong.
“Well, thanks,” she said in that way where a person is saying thanks out loud, but really they are saying, “I hate your face" on the inside.
I found myself wanting to apologize to her for violating her privacy, meddling, or for eavesdropping on her conversation…with herself. But no! I would not apologize for listening in on her conversation…that she was having with herself...out loud.
Look, don't get me wrong. Everyone talks to themselves at some point during the day. But either that happens in your car, in your empty home, or you do it in a quiet, quiet voice that is barely audible to anybody else near you. But no. Here in the middle of Hobby Lobby was a woman who was having a full on, projected conversation with herself. And apparently herself was hard of hearing. And she had the nerve to get mad at me for hearing her conversation that she was having aloud with herself in the middle of the store.
I wanted to walk over to her and tell her that there was this new technology that was really changing the way people conduct themselves in public places. Reiventing the world quicker than the Industrial Revolution or Internet. It’s this really innovative gadget called cognition. It’s amazing what it allows you to accomplish. You can actually think about something, anything really, without saying it out loud…isn’t that the coolest app you’ve ever heard of? Insanity. What will they think of (silently) next?
But instead, I said “Excuse me,” picked up my yarn, and headed to the front of the store thankful that I didn’t inherit the (hopefully recessive) gene that causes people to talk to themselves in public places.
Great story! It's neat how many interesting people there are in the world, even if they can be rude sometimes. It gives us blog-fodder. For some, it seems like they feel that the only time they can have a sane conversation is when they talk to themselves;)
ReplyDeleteGood point! It seems like the holiday season offers an exceptional amount of blog-fodder. Thanks for reading :)
ReplyDelete