Nickels and Dimes

In the grocery line yesterday, I encountered yet another person who feels the need to make weird conversation. An older guy (mid 50s-early 60s whom I'd never seen before) was staring at a Halloween magazine with an orange cake that had a black cat decoration in the center. One of those arched-back black cats that are so popular. He looks at it and then at me and says "Isn't that a shame?" directly to me, the only other person in line. And silly, stupid little me. I should have said "que?" or "yes." But no, I said "Why?" He replied, "Because black cats aren't scary and it's sad that they have a bad reputation. Black cats are just like any other cat" Oh. Okay. I said, "That's true. I have a black cat myself."

Then-and this is when I really kicked myself-he asked me if I had ever seen "a documentary about World War I." AND I SAID YES. What is wrong with me, by the way? He kept going on and on about people dying in that war and the havoc it wrought all over the world, and I interrupted him and said "What does this have to do with black cats?" His reply "Human injustice." He then talked about how he doesn't eat meat and can't understand why Christians go to war, and then I had to make it stop. I told him he was being very confusing and I wasn't following. I kept looking at him like he spoke a different language. Meanwhile, the cashier was doing nothing to stop this insanity. Didn't even chime in once with "Do you have your Ralph's card?" or anything. I hate that cashier. He's always so damn indifferent to me, but he will say hi to other local shoppers. And now he was watching this tortured conversation and didn't even meet my gaze. In fact, he took this time to ask his manager for change so that he didn't even have to make eye contact. Next time I have a pocket full of change, I'm going straight to that cashier to pay my whole grocery bill with dimes and nickels!