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Had to send back a pair of shoes to Zappo's today. I had also run out of packing tape, and needed to buy more. This required that I make a stop on my way into work, at the UPS Store.
As we all know, the above store is a chain. They have many locations, all over the country. Not a 'Mom & Pop' organization by any stretch of the imagination. This particular one is on the border of one of the nicest neighbourhoods in the city, which, for some reason, also seems to contain the highest percentage of crazy in this city.
Upon walking into the store, things seemed fairly calm, and even a bit happy. I grabbed the tape I needed and waited in line to purchase it. As I was paying, the bell rings, announcing the entrance of a young man, seemingly normal, although clutching a dirty bag under his arm. The bag was of the type used by some laundromats, a very rough plastic weave similar to the reusable Ikea bags. Not exactly atypical in this neighbourhood, as it's filled with a bunch of Adherents to the Green Way of Life.
He wanders halfway into the store, pauses, and starts in on a comment about how much he loves these little stores.
'Ok,' I think, 'maybe he didn't realize it's a UPS Store, and mistook it for the crappy packing store down the street.'
Oh no. He just didn't care. I made my way around him, responding semi-politely to his cheerful 'Bye and have a WONDERFUL DAY!' I plunked my stuff down on an out-of-the-way counter and started taping up my box, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible. His ramblings changed from appreciation of the store to his ideas on how to make the world a better place, although it's a prettydarnedgoodplacealreadydon'tchaknow!
I kinda tuned him out. Although I did catch a bit of his idea that instead of 'day care' we should be calling it 'loving care' and something about parents asking their kids how their day in 'day ca- oh I'm sorry loving care' was when picking them up after church.
Church seemed to be a big factor in all of this. That and kids. And something about the penny in his pocket saying 'In God We Trust.' That was apparently very important, because he repeated it several times.
After subjecting all of us to this uncomfortable stretch of five minutes, he wandered out, thanking the store people (again) for being there and hoping that they wouldn't leave.
The clerk who had been helping me had come over and started using the copier right next to me, which fortunately put her within earshot of me muttering various phrases such as 'if you like the place so much, why don't you spend money here' and 'oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane.'
When he finally left, I turned around and asked the store 'So, have we all had our required dose of Crazy for the day?'
This was met with much agreement from all quarters.
I feel bad for the kid. I really do. And I hope he gets help, or has it already. Except for the bag, he looked relatively well-kept, so I have to wonder if he slipped his handler.
I've decided I definitely prefer my crazy more obvious, like the woman the other day down on <major avenue> who was half-running down the street, ducking into stores randomly to torment salespeople, and screaming like a bansidhe.
As we all know, the above store is a chain. They have many locations, all over the country. Not a 'Mom & Pop' organization by any stretch of the imagination. This particular one is on the border of one of the nicest neighbourhoods in the city, which, for some reason, also seems to contain the highest percentage of crazy in this city.
Upon walking into the store, things seemed fairly calm, and even a bit happy. I grabbed the tape I needed and waited in line to purchase it. As I was paying, the bell rings, announcing the entrance of a young man, seemingly normal, although clutching a dirty bag under his arm. The bag was of the type used by some laundromats, a very rough plastic weave similar to the reusable Ikea bags. Not exactly atypical in this neighbourhood, as it's filled with a bunch of Adherents to the Green Way of Life.
He wanders halfway into the store, pauses, and starts in on a comment about how much he loves these little stores.
'Ok,' I think, 'maybe he didn't realize it's a UPS Store, and mistook it for the crappy packing store down the street.'
Oh no. He just didn't care. I made my way around him, responding semi-politely to his cheerful 'Bye and have a WONDERFUL DAY!' I plunked my stuff down on an out-of-the-way counter and started taping up my box, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible. His ramblings changed from appreciation of the store to his ideas on how to make the world a better place, although it's a prettydarnedgoodplacealreadydon'tchaknow!
I kinda tuned him out. Although I did catch a bit of his idea that instead of 'day care' we should be calling it 'loving care' and something about parents asking their kids how their day in 'day ca- oh I'm sorry loving care' was when picking them up after church.
Church seemed to be a big factor in all of this. That and kids. And something about the penny in his pocket saying 'In God We Trust.' That was apparently very important, because he repeated it several times.
After subjecting all of us to this uncomfortable stretch of five minutes, he wandered out, thanking the store people (again) for being there and hoping that they wouldn't leave.
The clerk who had been helping me had come over and started using the copier right next to me, which fortunately put her within earshot of me muttering various phrases such as 'if you like the place so much, why don't you spend money here' and 'oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane.'
When he finally left, I turned around and asked the store 'So, have we all had our required dose of Crazy for the day?'
This was met with much agreement from all quarters.
I feel bad for the kid. I really do. And I hope he gets help, or has it already. Except for the bag, he looked relatively well-kept, so I have to wonder if he slipped his handler.
I've decided I definitely prefer my crazy more obvious, like the woman the other day down on <major avenue> who was half-running down the street, ducking into stores randomly to torment salespeople, and screaming like a bansidhe.
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