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I Will Never Learn

It happened again. I spoke to a stranger at the store. When am I going to learn to keep my mouth shut? I shared a ten second polite exchange with a slovenly stranger in the electronics department, and he followed me through the next three isles telling me about his personal life.

This is what I learned: He is single dad who home schools because there are no decent public school teachers. His job is internet related and he works from home. He was purchasing a VCR deck and a third TV because on Wednesday night there are three different shows on three different channels at the same time and he needs to be able to record the two he’s not watching. He watches his recorded programs during the day while he’s working and his three kids are doing their lessons.

In a nutshell (nut being the operative word): neither his business, his children, nor the TV rate his undivided attention, but I do. Sigh.

Quilly is the pseudonym of Charlene L. Amsden, who lives on The Big Island in Hawaii. When she is not hanging out with Amoeba, she is likely teaching or sewing. Or she could be cooking, taking photographs, or even writing. But if she's not doing any of that, she's probably on Facebook or tinkering with her blog.

15 Comments

  1. Yeah, I never give more than a monosyllabic answer to people like that. After one uttered sentence, they want to befroend you for life.

    Makes your skin crawl.

  3. Cindra is notorious for talking to everbody, everywhere, but somehow she knows how to do it without it going bad places. Except this one time she talked to this guy and he’s still living with us! Oh yeah, that was me.

  4. Quilly-Sister, I’m afraid it’s in the genes – just can’t be helped.
    People have always told me their life stories. I love it that my kids use to say I’d talk t a rock. Cindra would be so embarrassed when she was young – and now she’s the same way! And now she embarrasses CL. I tell CL that someday she’ll have a daughter of her own to embarrass! LOL

  7. *raising hand*
    Freak magnet? Yes… That’s me! lol

    I’ve met some great people through chance meetings and chit-chatting on the street, but most of the time I share your much dreaded curse. At work or in class, if there’s anyone present like the person you just described, it’s me that they are drawn to. I don’t fully understand it, but I often wonder what that says about me… lol

  8. hmm, i am thinking that maybe he was hitting on you..maybe he is out of the loop and had no idea in how to go about it and so he failed miserably but hey he couldn’t help himself..

  11. I’ve certainly never met a stranger either and mostly it’s worked out for me. Remember that old 80’s saying: You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. This was definately a frog, slamming public school teachers. Neanderthal.

  12. Ugghhhh. ….I feel for you. I really wonder if the guy was telling you the truth. Sometimes I think these people are stuck in a time warp and the stuff they are talking about happened years ago.

    I hope you got home ok….

  14. I have ten second conversations with strangers all the time, some initiated by me, and some by the other people. I can’t ever recall one ending up like that. Maybe it’s just that you have overwhelming personal charm. LOL

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