Picking a winner

[halloweenjack]

At last, I have enough distance from the event in question to tell the tale.

It was sometime last weekend, and I'm riding on the city bus, and I'm people-watching. Now, since time immemorial, public transportation and people watching have gone together like bacon and eggs, but as of late, the people watching has gained an additional significance because... I've been thinking... should I get back into the dating game?

Now, don't worry that I'm one of those nasty old creepazoids who hits on girls on the bus. I'm not seriously thinking about flirting. I'm just thinking that just maybe I should be thinking about flirting. That sort of thing.

Anyway. I'm on the bus, and ahead of me, seated in profile, is a not too bad looking woman. Slim, pale, rather refined features, maybe a little skin problem but after all who am I to criticize in that regard? No rings on the fingers, gooooood. Not doing the desperate man's stare, just glancing over once in a while. She seems a little nervous, kind of picking at her teeth on a regular basis. And then, I notice that she's doing... something... before she picks at her teeth. At first, my poor old brain just won't process the information. But then, after several iterations of this motion, I have to admit:

She's picking her nose, and eating it.

Now, I've dealt with people with developmental disabilities (i.e. retarded) and others with various behavioral challenges, both on a professional and informal basis, and this is the very first booger-eater on public transportation that I've witnessed. (Mind you, I've ridden about two-thirds of the length of Manhattan Island on the subway while a gentleman of unknown extraction screamed apocalyptic screeds at me at point-blank range, so I'm not that easily flustered, you know.) I'm the first to admit that, it's not just her obliviousness to some rather standard social niceties that bothers me, but that, up until that unfortunate witnessing, I'd considered her to be potential gal-pal material.

Wonder if any monasteries are hiring at the moment?

Comments

[fromagecity.livejournal.com]

hmm.
i never trust public transportation for that sort of thing. it's never ended well for me.

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

I hope that, by "that sort of thing", you're talking about flirting.