Semi-Eventful Park Stroll
There's a great park very close to where I live that has a nice little lake (or is it a large pond/goose toilet?) that is very nice to go to and stroll about. To mildy compensate for my carb-addiction, I will go there sometimes and just walk around. I know myself well enough to know - that even though it is pretty and pleasant - I don't have the motivation to walk around it more than a couple times even if I have the time and it's a gorgeous day.....so I've figured out how to trick myself into walking for longer by utilizing the time to talk to friends or family on the phone as I walk. Sure, some of the park people may find it annoying, but I have to deal with their squealing children running about, or with the man who decided it was a perfectly decent idea to yank a cool looking turtle out of the water and place it on the sidewalk or the older man who was bicycling about and decided that instead of using the park facilities that he would go and tinkle in the woodsy area (I wonder if he knew that I knew what he was doing)....so anyways - walking and talking isn't a huge crime in my opinion.
On my latest venture I had been strolling around the park for around an hour and a half (having spoken to a couple of different people and also just walking phoneless for part of it), and I was finally completing my last lap before heading back to my car. On the last straightaway I was mainly looking across the lake and at the sky, but I noticed in my peripheral vision that a man down the way seemed to be staring at me. I briefly straightened my glance and he looked away. I continued to mostly look across the lake as I approached - I like to smile and say hello to people (Shush! I am capable of being nice every once in a while ;-p), but if you smile and say hello too soon you have that awkward "Do I keep smiling or do I look away again?" thing going on, which I prefer to avoid. So anyways - as I neared I smiled and he said hello or something and I think I did too. I kept walking and he made some comment about how I had been walking for a while or something - which was true, but, had he been watching me for long or did he just notice my red cheeks? He then asked if I had time to talk or something, and I lied and said I was meeting a friend. I'm sure he was a perfectly decent person, but he was at least 15 years older than me and he was a smoker (bleck)....now if he was more my age, not smoking, and whatnot, maybe I would have been more inclined to talk (although that's still always a bit strange) - but most people wouldn't have wanted to randomly talk to my windblown self anyways.
So as I kept walking he asked if he could at least introduce himself or some such thing. Meanwhile a man and his teenage son were walking by in the opposite direction and I noticed the Dad turn around to see, presumably, if this guy was bothering me. I let him introduce himself, and after he asked my name I went ahead and told him. Evidently his ex-girlfriend had the same name (his eyes went wide and he seemed to shake slightly in fear with her memory - who knew there was another "Shababbler" out there ;-p). I then said it was nice to meet him, but I had to go. He asked me if I came and walked around often, to which I again sort-of lied and said only every once in a while. Anyways - the icing on the cake for me was this....as I was attempting to make my final departure he asked, "Can I at least offer you a drink?" I glanced at the bench upon which he had been sitting and noticed there was what must have been a smidgeon of beer or something in a cut-off plastic bottle. I politely thanked him as I declined the offer and continued walking toward my car. I was thankful that he didn't attempt to follow me, because I needed to attempt to scrape off some dog-poo from the bottom of my shoe before I got into my side-swiped soccer-mom car (yes, I lead a truly glamorous life ;-p).
It seems to me, although I acknowledge I must have that "cheap date" look (and hey - take me to Costco for a hotdog and soda and I'm a happy girl =-p), but it seems the offer of park-bench hooch is much more appropriate for a drunken teenager out past their curfew (and no Mom and Dad - I was never a drunk teenager out past my curfew....those times I snuck out I was barely a teenager ;-p), but maybe it's just me. So my park stroll was slightly more eventful than usual (including the shoe poo), and I just find it tremendously amusing that this man actually was trying to offer me a swig of his park-bench hooch =-p. My goodness.
On my latest venture I had been strolling around the park for around an hour and a half (having spoken to a couple of different people and also just walking phoneless for part of it), and I was finally completing my last lap before heading back to my car. On the last straightaway I was mainly looking across the lake and at the sky, but I noticed in my peripheral vision that a man down the way seemed to be staring at me. I briefly straightened my glance and he looked away. I continued to mostly look across the lake as I approached - I like to smile and say hello to people (Shush! I am capable of being nice every once in a while ;-p), but if you smile and say hello too soon you have that awkward "Do I keep smiling or do I look away again?" thing going on, which I prefer to avoid. So anyways - as I neared I smiled and he said hello or something and I think I did too. I kept walking and he made some comment about how I had been walking for a while or something - which was true, but, had he been watching me for long or did he just notice my red cheeks? He then asked if I had time to talk or something, and I lied and said I was meeting a friend. I'm sure he was a perfectly decent person, but he was at least 15 years older than me and he was a smoker (bleck)....now if he was more my age, not smoking, and whatnot, maybe I would have been more inclined to talk (although that's still always a bit strange) - but most people wouldn't have wanted to randomly talk to my windblown self anyways.
So as I kept walking he asked if he could at least introduce himself or some such thing. Meanwhile a man and his teenage son were walking by in the opposite direction and I noticed the Dad turn around to see, presumably, if this guy was bothering me. I let him introduce himself, and after he asked my name I went ahead and told him. Evidently his ex-girlfriend had the same name (his eyes went wide and he seemed to shake slightly in fear with her memory - who knew there was another "Shababbler" out there ;-p). I then said it was nice to meet him, but I had to go. He asked me if I came and walked around often, to which I again sort-of lied and said only every once in a while. Anyways - the icing on the cake for me was this....as I was attempting to make my final departure he asked, "Can I at least offer you a drink?" I glanced at the bench upon which he had been sitting and noticed there was what must have been a smidgeon of beer or something in a cut-off plastic bottle. I politely thanked him as I declined the offer and continued walking toward my car. I was thankful that he didn't attempt to follow me, because I needed to attempt to scrape off some dog-poo from the bottom of my shoe before I got into my side-swiped soccer-mom car (yes, I lead a truly glamorous life ;-p).
It seems to me, although I acknowledge I must have that "cheap date" look (and hey - take me to Costco for a hotdog and soda and I'm a happy girl =-p), but it seems the offer of park-bench hooch is much more appropriate for a drunken teenager out past their curfew (and no Mom and Dad - I was never a drunk teenager out past my curfew....those times I snuck out I was barely a teenager ;-p), but maybe it's just me. So my park stroll was slightly more eventful than usual (including the shoe poo), and I just find it tremendously amusing that this man actually was trying to offer me a swig of his park-bench hooch =-p. My goodness.
posted by The Shababbler at 1:25 PM
4 Comments:
Hey, ummmm, would you like to go to Costco with me later? ;)
Hehehehe....mmmmmmmmm...Costco =-p.
So, as I was worried, my parents were a little "concerned" when they heard about the park bench hooch and its owner. That's what parents are there for - to worry about things like that. However, after reading my blog a friend e-mailed me describing his random encounter with a stranger who was much seedier than mine and whom he agreed to provide a ride for when asked because from the initial distance he looked much less seedy. In the end, they felt the need to immediately buy cleaning products to try to remove the stench and grime. Luckily I was able to share that with my Dad which took all of the attention away from my harmless stranger encounter =-).
I wouldn't have thought him harmless. More like a stalker or something. Dude could have had the hooch spiked. Next thing we know your accepting an award for best new XXX actress. Gotta watch Stroker and Hoop, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network; funny shit. I'm a lot less nice towards strangers. I give them that look that say, "if you even think about talking to me I'll beat the crap out of you." Usually works. So be careful out there. We don't want your name showing up on IMDB for the wrong reasons. Oh, and care pepper spray. That will help him find better things to do.
Amen to that AngryDave!
I'm also a lot less nicer to strangers. I used to be the opposite but people seem to bother me which I don't like BUT my sister is the complete opposite of me.
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