Sinners, every last one of us

I have told you about that whole Asking-thing, yeah?

People ask me the darndest things randomly in the street – one of my favourties is still “what date is it?” but we’ve got a strong contender now.

I was accosted as per the usual arrangement, not as randomly as it might seem by a pair of gentlemen of an early Sunday morning.

And I guess that’s just how it takes you sometimes. You wake up in a foreign city early a Sunday morning with an unpleasant taste in your mouth and a dire need to attend mass and quite possibly confess your sins. Excess or guilt or maybe just good habits – or really, really bad ones are going to dictate your behaviour anyway and well…  We all need direction at times, I guess.

I’m well beyond pondering what makes people chose me to ask. I either look like someone who has their shit together or I look like a sinner, and that’s fine with me. Both and neither are equally true.

The scary part is I could actually point the gentlemen in the direction if the nearest Catholic church.

I am a lamb.

ROL

The Kindness of Strangers like me

I guess I just give off that general vibe of someone who has their shit together.

I will be walking down the street in any random town and get asked for directions. Or a lighter, or a piece of string, or the correct spelling of some obscure word (not making that one up, FYI) or where to find a decent Chinese restaurant, or a dry cleaners… That’s on the side of the better angels of my nature. I also get hit up for small change and asked if I want to buy “some shit” or some stolen jewlery… On the geezer side of my nature I guess.

Now, being asked directions is just one of those things that happen enough that I would remark on it. And on a good day I’ll help if I can. On a bad day, though… I’ll just send you off at random. Irish style. Looking very businesslike you look people in the eye and send them right into the blue. That ought to teach them trusting someone like me. Relying on the kindness of random strangers is like taking candy from uncle John in the park – just don’t do that, okay? I try not to play with the bunnies too often, though. That kind of thing can have a karmic backlash.

But, what strikes me as funny about this is that I get asked for directions pretty much anywhere I go – even if it is a town I’ve never been in before. Complete stranger in a strange town must be fair game right? I try to be better than I am, really I do. But sometimes … Well. It’s like that prayer of St Augustine. Make me chaste – but not just yet. (If you’re a stickler, the quote is actually: Grant me chastity and continence, only not yet).

Today I was walking down the street with my most competent pants on and got stopped, as per usual, by some bloke asking for a light and directions, both of which I supplied. And the guy says “you can always find nice people, like you, to help.”

Well.

Ahem.

What are you supposed to say to that? I guess we both lucked out. I actually set him on a true path. I was having a good day, what can I say. I am a lamb. I am full of the milk of human kindness. I just had my coffee, okay?

ROL