Of course this is the week that my car decides to self-destruct. Monday my air conditioning switch suddenly quit working on the high setting. Still the air came out nice and cold so that wasn't too much of a problem. Wednesday, all the sudden I smelt a freon like odor, then the air turned hot instead of cold. Yep the Air conditioning mafunctioned right before the hottest day in 11 years!

Yesterday, I was low on gas and decided to get some near the house as there isn't too many convenient places between work and home. About 2 miles from my intended destination, the car started sputtering on the freeway and I was out of gas. 1 quarter mile to the next exit, clutch in and coasting....60,50,40,30, then down the ramp thru the stop sign 2 tenths of a mile to go,20,15,10, thru the green light across the street up the driveway and stop, with a mere 15 feet to go. Luckily it is a light car. After refilling, a few miles later the overheating light came on...Well I made it to the driveway where it sits awaiting my attention before Monday.

This next may be a case of "Can you ever escape your origens", or it might be just my imagination. I'll leave it too "Crazy for Muffin" to give her opinion....

I went to home depot, and while standing behind this guy awaiting checkout, I heard him talking to the cashier.

There was no physical indication he was not what he seemed, in fact he appeared and sounded to be a "nice person". Yet somehow his words brought back the fleeting memory of the "Ghetto Rap" con artists and hot check passers used to use when trying something in the retail stores I used to run, in the inner city.

He was in about mid 20's, casually dressed, a fairly large Black fellow, clean and calm spoken.

He was buying some gardening supplies and plants. He said to the clerk, " Yeah, I'm buying a house." Then, "This is actually for the house I'm leasing, I keep it up nice for him and that will help me get what I want. Always remember that, You do people right and you'll get things right."

OK, an innocuos "What comes around, goes around speech." Yet it was like why are you explaining what you are buying the plants for? Then why the sudden "Clarification" that you are leasing not buying? Do you think the clerk isn't "buying" your rap, so you have to try again? Then he lectures the clerk on how he always does people right!

It is quite hard to explain the cadence and tone of the 1 sided conversation, and truthfully I could care less, but in the Ghetto, this method of providing conversation to distract or to provide a believable story, when not needed, is used to cover your accomplice ripping off everything in the store while you are tied up with the person, or to set your mind at ease while you are being setup for something. (I always do people right. Was there a question about your integrity?)

I doubt that this person was about to commit a crime, yet his method of idle chit-chat just set off strong associations with the "Bad old days" of being ripped off daily and getting large amounts of bad or stolen checks and credit cards. It got to the point of instead of waiting for the suspicious person to actually make his move to rip something off, I'd go up and say "Are you going to buy that or just rip it off, cause I'm waiting to kick your ass then have you arrested!"

That usually did the trick, though I got stung with theft my share of times.

In Harlem, in New York City, someone mistook me for a gullible young man, and tried to set me up for a Junkie to mug me and rip me off. He used that same "story" technique to explain why he was there, why I should go with him, set me at ease while setting me up with the junkie, and as an excuse to leave me with the junkie.

Enough for today...P.S. That mugging "plan" didn't work out for them....I'm still here today, and they are probably long since dead. What goes around, comes around!

Curiouoso*