People are....interesting

People are interesting. This week we have met some interesting people. As you can probably tell, not much has happened since our flat tire. So, I am resorting to spend some time writing about people we have encountered on this trip. Praise the Lord, I don’t have any pictures to share with you, but here are three different encounters in three different places.

Let’s start with Albuquerque, New Mexico. We arrived at our hotel around 7:00 in the evening. Mike went to check into our room. As I was waiting in the car, a man walked up to my window, which was rolled down. He came up and whispered, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this. People are talking.” I smiled and said hello. His face frowned and he replied, “Shhhh! Don’t you hear them? People are talking about us. We’ve got to stop seeing each other.” At this point, I am thinking to myself, “Okay. This man is not playing with a full deck of cards. He’s definitely one fry short of a happy meal. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer nor is he the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.” I was planning my next move, which was to choose from the following: (A) scream for help; (B) set off the panic button on the car alarm or (C) get out the car and take the man down, which I was fully capable of doing since he was probably 75 or 80 years old and weighed less than me. Before I could do anything, Mike walked out of the hotel and the man wandered off.

Let’s move on to San Jose, California. Mike and I are leaving San Jose for our drive to Medford, Oregon. We stopped at a McDonald’s to grab a bite of lunch before getting on the road. We were sitting in the parking lot and a gentleman walked up to Mike’s window. He said, “Sir, would you be willing to give a homeless man 50 cents to buy a cigarette?” Mike said, “No, however, if you are hungry I would be happy to buy you a meal.” He declined and said that he was off to go prentend to be Mike Tyson (you know, the boxer). He walked off and quickly returned. “Sir, I have to be honest with you. It’s really hard to pretend to be Mike Tyson, especially when you’re white.” Mike looked at him, trying to control his laughter and said, “Yes, I’m sure it is.” He then looked at us and said, “Agent Moulder and Agent Scully, are you okay?” I said, “We are doing great. God bless, Mr. Tyson.” And he was off to find 50 cents.

Finally, let’s finish with Prince George, British Columbia. I am in an A&W restaurant and Mike was in the car entertaining the kitties. While waiting for my order to be completed, which by the way, seemed painfully slow, a man kept staring at me. I smiled and then turned my back to him. After a few minutes, he said, “Excuse me. Are you for real?” I said, “Excuse me???” He said, “Are you for real?” Now in my mind I am thinking, “No. Actually I’m not. I am quite fake. In fact, I am not even standing here having this conversation with you.” Instead of the sarcasm, I replied, “Why, yes, I am for real. Thank you for asking.” He said, “You drove here from Alabama?” Obviously, he had seen our license plate on the car. I said, “Yes, we drove all the way from Alabama.” He said, “Thanks. Have a great day.”

So, you see, the point of this post is pointless. With that said, I will end with this thought, “People are strange and yet, they are interesting.”