talk-to-me powder

[asakiyume]

I generally like, or at least don't mind, people talking to me, but I *do* notice when it's out of the ordinary. Today, I have the distinct impression that I'd inadvertently sprinkled myself with talk-to-me powder.

First in the supermarket, a girl stocking the shelves, looked up as I approached and said, "Is it raining outside?" (It's not; it's a sunny day.)

"No," I told her, "It's still clear out."

"It's just... " she indicated a rumbling noise coming from overhead. "It sounds like thunder."

"Hmmm, yeah, it does. Could it be the air conditioning units?" We mused for a few minutes more and then I went on with my shopping.

Next, as I was gazing abstractedly at the grass-fed beef, a man came up to me and said, "Is this the grass-fed beef?"

"Yes, all of this," I said. There were about three shelves of little one-pound packages.

"Oh! And it's only $7.00 a pound! That's better than at [competitor supermarket]. Over there it's $9.00."

"Then this is a bargain," I said, though I don't really know what constitutes a bargain in the area of sustainably raised beef. In the end I didn't buy any--I don't know whether the man did or not.

Last was at the farm stand across the way from the supermarket. There's a young guy staffing it, vaguely familiar looking. He obviously had the same feeling about me, because he abruptly said,

"Whose mom are you? You look really familiar."

"What year did you graduate?" I ask back, and it's the same year as my youngest, which is complicated, because (a) she detested high school, and (b) about six months after graduating--and moving overseas--she came out as trans female.... which means her classmates knew her as a boy.

Always in these situations I have to make a snap decision: go into the story, or don't go into the story. This kid seemed friendly enough, but I have no idea what kind of relationship he and my youngest had, or if they even crossed paths. So I asked him if he knew [child's old name] and he said yes, that they'd been in band together.

"Tell him I say hello," he said.

"What's your name?" I asked.

He told me. I reported the whole thing to my youngest via messages. She said asking abrupt questions was very much that guy's personality. I said maybe it wasn't him; after all, I'd been wearing talk-to-me powder.

Comments

[sovay]

She said asking abrupt questions was very much that guy's personality. I said maybe it wasn't him; after all, I'd been wearing talk-to-me powder.

The grass-fed beef is the most confusing of these instances to me.

[lilysea]

I hate when strangers talk to me, because it almost always leads to

- touching me without asking first;

- "how long have you been using a wheelchair"

- "why do you use a wheelchair?"

- telling me their medical woes/their partner's medical woes

- telling me to try fish oil/krill oil/tumeric etc

[amaebi]

I have heard that being or presenting as female is a form of talk-to-me powder for strangers, and I believe it.

[cmcmck]

'which means her classmates knew her as a boy'

Sounds familiar although a few of them have known me for much longer as a girl! :o)

I wasn't aware that your youngest is trans.

[http://lotuslandfineart.com/velvetrope/]

I try to always shower to remove the talk-to-me powder before leaving the house, but it doesn't always work. :-)

[wayfaringwordhack]

LOL. Now I am wondering why I have been making an effort to make small talk with strangers. A need to connect, a need to make others feel that they are noticed and worth talking to, something else...

And, you see, your talk-to-me powder crosses days and oceans. ;)

[gale_storm]

"wearing talk-to-me powder"

Gotta wonder at how this became powder, or what was ground up to make the powder that elicits conversations.