Thursday, August 25, 2005
AGGRESSIVELY FRIENDLY
I often wave, if I am on the bike.
It is a nice neighborly western, small town, resorty thing to do.
Most people wave back or say some equivalent of a greeting.
I don't ask for much.
But this is where my friendliness ends.
I can be a real bitch about people who don't respond or react.
I know.
It sort of spoils the goodness of spirit that I sought in the first place.
A snub can get me riled pretty good.
I often give them another stronger 'hello' or whatever. And sometimes even a third. That one is a real snotty, sarcastic, snide, and aggressive one.
There are a few classes of snubbers.
First the women. Some of them. I think they are scared. I might be what they used to call a masher.
Maybe I should wear a T with 'Harmless Homo' written on it.
But it often goes beyond feeling threatened I think. It is just the gnarly bad temper that some women seem to carry around with them. They would do the same to any man.
I don't know. I am mind reading.
Then there are the earphone people. They are somewhere else. I am here.
HELLO! HELLO! HELLO! HELLLLOOOOO!!!! You earmuffed motherfucker!
See what I mean? I get caught up in a frenzy of friendliness and then when I don't get an answer, the wave crashes. I get carried over onto the beach of hostility.
So I am as bad or worse than those who ignore me. I am a hypocrite.
But a friendly one. I start out with good intentions.
There is only one other category of non-responders (well, other than the old and infirm) and that is the beautiful young man who, indeed, thinks I am cruising and importuning. The haughty indifference of youth.
This, I forgive. For, to him, I am invisible. I have reached the age of irrelevance.
For this one, I chuckle, and look ahead a few years when he will be helloing the air to a younger, prettier (and temporary) masterpiece.
