it's not everyday that a complete stranger in a supermarket walks up to you and says 'oh my god!'
at least not to me.
and it's in that fuzzy moment that seems to stretch on forever, that every conceivable scenario plays out in my head as to exactly who this person is, why they are pointing at me, and at the same time referencing a deity.
this person has no context in my brain, so i don't know if this is a good 'oh my god!' or a bad 'oh my god!', so for a brief second within this brief second, my brain is stuck on complete and total ' . . . ' - the black screen before the reboot kicks in.
and that moment within a moment leads me to this: who are we and what will we ultimately be remembered for?
if you suddenly went 'poof' what would people learn or discover in your absence (besides a small porn collection hidden in the back corner of the closet).
credit and debit cards are a good place to start, since what you buy, where you buy, and even when you buy can pretty much tell a tale of it's own.
my last statement would reveal a pretty sad story. there are no donations to charitable organizations, but there are almost daily $4 contributions to starbucks. there's also an unusually suspicious and regimented purchase of a certain chocolate pudding i've been addicted to lately. plus several hundred dollars in charges to an out of state company called biotest (alarming as the name may appear, they make nothing more toxic than protein powder).
this all flashed in my head because the woman approaching me did so with the gritty purpose and intent of a disturbed, psychopathic killer.
hands full of groceries, unable to defend myself, all i could think was:
'pudding. i'm going to be remembered for pudding. f@#k!'
fortunately, she did not have a cleaver stashed anywhere on her person, and her enthusiasm and gesturing had nothing to do with me. it had to do with my shirt - a souvenir from a small tourist attraction in paris. turns out she had been to the exact same place at almost the exact same time.
hmmmm....
we chatted for a second. compared our experiences abroad. then went our separate ways.
she'll remember me for a t-shirt. i'll remember her as my transcontinental stalker.
