August 20, 2002
All right, I have
All right, I have to get this off my chest.A long time ago I was working for a company down in the bay area of CA, and I went to another company in the bay area of CA, and then while a bunch of us were milling around, another project manager - some hotshot - walked in and everyone said hi. I got introduced and he put his hand out to shake hands. So I shook it, and he made eye contact - he was a bit aggressive about the whole thing - and he had no fingers.
It bugged me afterwards and I'm coming clean, I admit it. You
ask me who I feel more compassionate for in that situation - the guy who
was missing his fingers, or the man or woman who shakes his hand and
then jumps from being startled. Sorry, but I feel more compassionate
for the other guy. I mean, having no fingers is horrible. That's
probably my worst nightmare. Well, second worst, after being attacked
and torn apart by weeds. But still. I won't forget that subtle sneer that
was on his face while he shook my hand, it was like he was daring me to react,
or requiring me to act as if nothing was amiss (like, uh, fingers). It
would have been different had he smiled wryly or something, it was just
that belligerence that ticked me off. Felt like a test. Plus there was
all his coworkers watching me. And then them all requiring me to insult
my own mother. Not to mention then eating the live worms, and shaving
my head. Man, where was I, anyway?
Posted by Curt at August 20, 2002 02:25 AM