The world is not as I thought. My simplistic mind regularizes reality, makes every person think alike, have the same opinions, judgments and reactions. I think that mostly they don't like me. This is because I am so different. I'm a loner, maverick, artist type who has always looked for the unconventional solution. To me this is the only way to be. I cannot think of being one of the crowd. Yesterday, shopping at Costco, I was given a lesson in different strokes for different folks. Standing in line waiting to pay for my items, I started noticing that I was not the weirdest looking person there. I saw a blonde reggae guy with hair all matted, folks with all sorts of tatoos and body peircings, and to cap it off an older gent sporting a six inch hunting knife. He had it holstered on his belt. The guy was decked out like a retired Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell. The had his name tattooed on his neck in bold script. Now perhaps in a rural area this outfit might be normal but here in the city, this was different. OK, so I'm standing next to this fellow with my outfit all femme including a floral embroidered jacket thinking that, I am just another unusual person among many.
This experience comes on the heels of a weekend where I finally broke down and went shopping with my wife for clothes. We bought a lot of nice things and they were for both of us. The wonderful thing is that everything came from the women's section. I tried on tops in full view of the others and gradually I forgot that there were there. For once, I was able to be me and not think about what others think. I also saw a transgendered teen with his mother. We looked at each other with knowing smiles. Very liberating.
