ok, so i'm sitting in montgomery mall at a coffee shop table, waiting for my partner from my special ed class to arrive, so that we could do an exercise in the mall. this elderly lady comes over, puts her stuff down on the chair opposite me, smiles and says "hello! i'll be back!", and then leaves to go get a drink.
i sit there in semi-shock. do i know her? is she delusional? does she think she knows me? why was she so cheerful? what is she going to do when she comes back? should i leave? what do i say?
she comes back and sits down. oh gosh... now what do i do.
r: sooo.... what brings you to the mall on this fine fall day?
ol(old lady): oh i was just checking out the sale at nordstrom's. i didn't find anything i wanted that was on sale, but i almost bought a pair of shoes that wasn't on sale. i also checked out the land's end part of sears. i was very disappointed. but i did buy a coat.
r: oh yeah?... do you life around here?
ol: yes, in bethesda.
r: oh.... that's great. [long silence] i, um, am just waiting for my friend to get here.... we're doing a project for school about sensitivity to people with disabilities. we're going to have to go all around the mall in a wheelchair to see what it's like.
ol: OH! yeah, disabilities... are hard. my son is a dwarf. he's not bad though- 4'11". the coat that i just bought in sears is for him, actually. my son has a normal sized torso but just tiny little legs and arms- you know, like the dwarves in snow white! .. i am going to get the taylor to shorten the arms....
r:[what the heck do i say to that?!] oh wow. um. wow. yeah that must be hard... we, um, don't really know what people with disabilities go though, do we?
[short, but very awkward silence]
ol: so what class is that for?
r: it's for a special education class that i'm taking at university of maryland.
ol: oh, my son went through special education- my dwarf, i mean. he's retarded. actually both my boys went through special education.
r: [ohmygosh. WHAT?] yeah, well it's kinda cool to see all the great ways that teachers are able to help kids with disabilities.
ol: hm... [forced smile. she doesn't agree.] [long silence] my dwarf has a job now, though. he works at a bank in minesota.
r: oh that's great. OH look! it's my friend!
friend: hi! (i texted her about the weird lady putting down her bags)
r: well i guess we should get going.... um, my name is rachel, by the way.
ol: um.... uh... my name is... um... uh... bathesda! [sheepish smile]
r: ok, well it was great meeting you! have a great day!
yeah. that was the highlight of my friday. so awkward. all of the references to "her dwarf"... and the fact that she volunteered all this information and yet didn't want to tell me her first name, but, instead, said her name was bethesda! bethesda? she already told me that was where she lived...
poor lady. she must need someone to talk to... :(
it was just really, really funny.
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3 comments:
think my favorite part is the "So do you Life around here?" oh Rachel I can't believe these things happen to you!
i can't believe this kind of thing really happens. but of course it does, to you.
now that was a very awesome story Rachel. :-)
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