So, here's the story behind THIS GUY and
how he ended up in my blog.
[image of guy]
There's a bus bench at the bus stop a block
away from the yoga studio. It's pretty
uncommon for bus stops in LA to have
benches, and when they do, the people who
sit on them are seldom waiting for the bus. It's
just how it is here.
When I finished teaching class, I walked down
to the bus stop and passed the gentleman
who usually sits there on Sundays. He's a
quiet guy who hears Oakley style sunglasses,
and he was sitting on the steps of the wings
place near the bus stop. Another gentleman
was sitting in Mr Oakley's spot, so that should
have been my first clue that something wasn't
right. Mr Oakley would never willingly give up
his spot.
As I approached the spot where I usually
stand to wait for the bus, between the bus
sign and the bench, I noticed that the man
sitting there was wearing a puffy coat in 88°F
weather. This may have contributed to his
irritable demeanor, because as soon as I
stopped there and glanced over at him (for
no real reason other than to make a note of
my surroundings), he turned and gave me a
wide-eyed death stare.
He was young, maybe mid-to-late 20's and
looked like he hadn't been on the streets that
long. He also looked quite lucid, and stared
angrily at me (see pic) without blinking for
some time.
I'm not particularly a fan of staring contests,
and I certainly wasn't going to get into one
with this guy, but I also have an innate
resistance to people trying to intimidate me. I
don't care who you are, or how dangerous
you think you are (or actually are), I do not
stand for people trying to scare. However,
after growing up just outside of New York City
and also having trained in Martial Arts for
over a decade, I also knew that it was in my
best interest not to get into it with this guy.
All the while I thought these thoughts, he
continued to stare. And not blink. I was
wearing a mask, so he couldn't see my
expression, but I wondered if he could see
that I was smiling. I was smiling really as a
reflex, partly due to nerves, and partly to
diffuse the hostile energy. I craned my neck to
look past him down the block to see if my
bus was coming. It was not. I glanced back at
him, and he was still staring, and not blinking.

Listen, honey, thought, If you think you're
going to scare this little old [ ] woman, you
are not. But awkward situations will disarm
me a bit, so I did something I probably
shouldn't have: I opened my mouth.

Stupid me. Even stupider was what I said.

He reminded me of Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs who, while playing
the psychopathic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter,
stared at Agent Starling without blinking.

Like this guy.

So, I said:
"I wish I could put you in a movie!"
(pause)
He continued to stare.
I looked for the bus, and saw it in the
distance, but it was still a block away. I looked
at him.
"I'd put you in a movie, if I could!"
See, I thought I was paying him a compliment.
Now, he speaks.

"I didn't say SHIT!"

(pause)
"Yeah, I know.."
The bus pulled up. I got on. He stared at me
until it pulled away from the curb. I really
would have put him in a movie if I could. It
might've made a difference?

A drawing of my dog Bugsby, a senior Boston Terrier/Pug mix.

a drawing of a rabbit

My senior dog Bugsby eating his dinner from a bowl, with his name "Bugsby" writen in longhand above his head

A drawing made on the Remarkable2 tablet of the Wilshire Grand Center building in downtown Los Angeles. Nearby, a figure lies on some steps, and another figure stands under a traffic light.