NOT what I expected...

Generally, I think it's a bad idea to judge people based on how they look. It isn't nice, and more often than we'd like to admit, our judgements are probably wrong. But it's human nature, based on the experiences that we have throughout life, to expect certain things from certain types of people. You know... if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck right?

Not always. It could be a goose pretending to be a duck. Or a very small child in a very good costume.

Two examples to justify my completely useless observation:

I was at a Clay Aiken concert several years ago... What. You've never seen Clay Aiken in concert? Do you live under a rock or something? So... I was at the concert and I was sitting behind this woman that I thought looked really, really classy. She was probably in her mid-fifties, wearing a nice, classy outfit... I remember specifically thinking that she had fantastic hair. Really, she just seemed like the kind of woman that one would like to get to know... poised, intelligent, put together, and well, just normal. Then, someone sitting next to her asked if she had ever seen Clay Aiken in concert before... and she said:

"Oh, well of course. I've been following him across the country for the past three tours. This is my 36th show."

Wow. Not what I expected.

Don't get me wrong... I'm all about clay aiken concerts. But seriously. This woman did NOT look like a groupie. I ran in to another women at a different clay aiken concert (shut up already) who was wearing head to toe clay gear... shirt, hat, bags, buttons... SHE looked like a groupie. Who knows though... that might have been her very first show.

And now for number 2...

Yesterday, Mr. Verizon telephone man came to my house to find out why we had static on our phone line. Before he arrived, I actually figured out that the static was caused by the mischievous removal of our DSL filters, courtesy of one small munchkin named Sam. But, because I wanted Mr. Verizon to see that I STILL have a big orange wire draped across my yard because his company has yet to come and bury the phone line, I let him come all the way out to my house anyway. He rang the door bell and I opened the door to Mr. Verizon... who looked as if he had walked directly off the beach in California. Except he wasn't wearing board shorts, he was wearing a Verizon uniform... but he was young, trim, tan, big blue eyes, total beach bum look. I said hello... he said:

(you have to read this in the right voice for the story to work... think Mater from the movie Cars... a Larry the cable guy meets Jeff Foxworthy kind of voice... okay, got it? Now read on...) "I done been out here four times already, and I seen that wire every time.... I'm just goin to turn it over to my boss man and let him see about gettin it buried..."

Wow. Again, NOT what I expected.

And now for a totally unrelated note... last night we went out to dinner for Mexican food. On our way out of the restaurant, Sam reached for the toothpick dispenser. I immediately stopped him because one five year old and four thousand toothpicks doth not a fun situation make. He said,

"Please?! I only need one!!"

So I ask him, "Sam? Why do you need a toothpick?"

He looked up, with this incredulous look on his face, raised his arms up in a shrug and said, "Mommy... I JUST ate!"

Well then. Of course you would need a toothpick.