Quote of the Day, Love: Oscar Wilde

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sax and Violins

The main drag in Everett is called Broadway. It is known for having bail bonds storefronts, tattoo parlors, seedy bars, and the like. I stopped at Safeway to get a sandwich on my way to class today. Standing in line in front of me was a group of young thugs. Ranging in age from about 17 to 25, they were all pale with dark hair and looked like they were strangers to the sun or a shower.  One had clearly been in a fight or had been strangled recently as his right eye was bright purple around the edges and his eyeball itself was bright red. I think his retina may have been detached too. As he rested his hands on the glass case, I noticed that his knuckles looked like he had run them over a dirty cheese grater. Those marks are often called fight bites and as the human mouth is filthier even than those of animals who lick their bottoms, these bites get infected very fast. His buddies were dressed in oversized hoodies and all of them had shaved heads. One guy had a tattoo on his cheek of barbed wire. My guess is that his personal adornment had not helped him in his job search too well. I waited and kept feeling that I was being watched. Clutching my key chain with pepper spray, I avoided all eye contact and waited for them to rob the joint or just leave. Finally, their order was complete and as I stepped up to place mine, I heard the barbed wire guy say to his buddies, “I can’t help it, that redhead over there is so HOT! I bet she smells like soap.” Pretending not to hear them, I went about my business. Maybe it was their aesthetic sensibilities, maybe it was because I was afraid one of these guys was going to pull on a ski mask and tell us all to get on the ground while the others ransacked the pharmacy and cash registers, but I did not feel it was a great compliment.

2 comments:

Crystalyn Johnson said...

Katie, I am sorry that you experienced an awkwardly funny compliment at a grocery store. It's not quite like the movies when people meet and flirt next to the produce aisle. Regardless, I am glad that they complimented you than the extreme alternative of having to face to the ground and being held hostage. And, I bet that you do smell nice.

Anonymous said...

Well, at least they waited until you left to do the holdup. Were they good looking at all?