Saturday, July 28, 2007

Through the looking glass

Kim had an appointment for an eye exam last Saturday, and I tagged along. Afterwards, we stopped at the local Bennigan's for a late lunch.

As we waited for our food, we leaned against the padded backrests, sipped our cold drinks, and watched the people outside the window. There were three of them, a man and two women, all middle-aged and all well-fed. I'd describe their apparel as "bikers-go-to-the-mall-wear" -- not full-out Harley gear, but enough accessories to maintain their well-crafted image.

One woman in particular interested me. Her long hair was shoe-polish black, but as she leaned over to put something in the car, the black tresses fell apart and revealed shorter day-glo-red hair underneath. The black hair was one length, the red hair was another. I could understand black hair with red roots or streaks, but this almost looked like the black hair was a wig -- something I couldn't imagine a self-respecting biker chick wearing.

Now, let me clarify that I wasn't staring at these people, merely watching idly through the restaurant's tinted window when I tired of looking at hanging antique bicycles and washboards. If I'd been staring, I wouldn't have been so shocked when the lady with the black and red hair stepped right up to the window and positioned herself exactly between Kim's side of the booth and mine.

She leaned in really close. I thought she must have heard me call Kim's attention to her hair, and I thought maybe she was about to tell me she was going to come in and kick my butt, but then, just as my fight-or-flight juices started to churn, she reached up her arms and began patting her hair into place. We watched with relief as she tidied up her reflected self, then walked away and joined her friends.

If you've read this far, you know that this was kind of a non-event. Still, I thought it was a cautionary tale worth posting. If you're ever tempted to primp in front of a window, just remember, you might not be alone.

10 comments:

  1. Velvet...I bet she has a butterfly tatoo, too.

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  2. I'm guessing she couldn't see inside. People-watching is such fun, and educational, too!

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  3. So... which hair needed patting into place? The day-glo red or the shoe-polish black?

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  4. my money would be on you if a fight was what she wanted. i could just see you going thro' the window at her.

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  5. Oh all the windows I've checked myself in when walking to work in other cities. I just got the view from the other side. It sort of reminds me of vacation photos. All the strangers in yours, where are they now? And how many of theirs are you that person, or part of that crowd?

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  6. What a laugh, on so many levels, Velvet.

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  7. thank you for reminding us we are not alone even when we think we are!

    keepers

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  8. What a hoot! Lacking the primping gene, I'm in no danger of repeating her mistake, but tinted windows can sure catch the best of us!

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  9. I'll have to keep this in mind. Now days - I think that 'someone' is watching no matter where we are. I read an article the other day about a woman who was caught pimping, by security cameras in a casino outside of town. They had a lot of information on her, from those cameras. I've been to that casino, and usually T is off somewhere other than where I am, and I'm lost in fantasy land as I spin the dials. It made me wonder if, when I'm zoning out there, I've unconsciously scratched something I shouldn't - and it's caught on camera!

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