Sometimes I like to meet new people. There are days when I become extra perky for a few hours and have fun asking all the same questions I've asked a million times before. Today was not that day.
I wish that you had not been so interested in rescuing me from my solitude. Sometimes I don't mind being alone in public places. Maybe I would like to let my thoughts wander and enjoy the taste of my food without conversation.
It's not that I'm really ungrateful, but as soon as you sat with me I knew that the more would follow. And, after they sat down with us, I knew that conversation would turn into friend-talk. Friend-talk is wonderful, I love doing it myself, but it's exclusive. So, no matter what I do to break in and no matter what you do to include me, it doesn't work.
So, conversation became stilted and ordinary, which made me want to finish my food as quickly as possible and leave. It made me want to leave the table I was sitting at so peacefully, all by myself. Then, when I wanted to leave, I felt it necessary to stay for a few more minutes just to make sure it didn't look like I was trying to get away from y'all, even though I did.
Anyway, the next time you see someone sitting alone, don't assume they want company. Sometimes they don't.
Yours truly,
Cranky McCrankypants
4 comments:
This reminds me of the time I was the victim of a "pity sit" at Houghton. Senior year, I was in a hurry because I had to finish an assignment or something (or maybe I was just really hungry, I don't remember), so instead of waiting for friends I went up to the cafeteria alone, grabbed some food, and sat down alone. A couple minutes later, a couple freshman girls walk over to sit with me... followed by several more. Pretty soon, the table was just me, and a bunch of bubbly freshman girls trying awkwardly to make conversation while I looked on in bemusement. A friend who came up a bit later saw the situation and just started laughing hysterically. I left as soon as I finished eating.
Yeah - I used to actually prefer eating dinner alone, so at Westmont I would go to the Dining Commons (DC) as soon as it opened. That way, I could get well started on my eating before anyone else got there. Pity sits usually didn't happen if I got there early enough, but if I had actual friends that came in they could still join me. Didn't work all the time. Then I got much more social...or something. Anyway...
No, actually what happened to Daniel was that he got interested in a certain someone... ;-)
Well, meganace, we can't always expect guys to tell the whole story... ;)
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