triple cancer

It's funny how awkward people feel/seem/look when strangers approach them. Even if strangers are friendly they are regarded with suspicion.

It doesn't help if they appear or speak quite eccentrically. Yesterday on the tram this scruffy - the bad kind - middle-aged man was animatedly interacting with everyone around him. Fortunately I had my ipod in so I was saved from his outlandishness. I suppose we protect our personal space very dramatically on public transport with mp3 players, sunglasses, reading material, phones or if lucky enough, a friend. This particular fellow deigned to pat the man in front of him on the knee quite jovially. He was loud and spoke to people who were over a metre away. I even utilised the classic technique of looking out the window to ensue I was not dragged into this odd display.

When he got off all of the people around exchanged glances of disbelief and mirth. We had all been baffled by this man's demeanour. I'm sure those closest were genial about the meeting, but like me I would assume they'd have some anxiety as to whether he would have a funny turn. If he was unpredictable enough to engage in such an exchange, what else would he be capable of? There was an instant where he flailed an arm rather theatrically and yelled irritably at a young man attempting to come down the aisle with a suitcase that exhibited a nasty side of his character.

This seems fairly boring and prosaic but I wanted to document my observations about personal space and general boundaries. If there's a purpose it seems talking to strangers is acceptable. Two girls asked me for directions earlier in the day and I didn't know them, yet acquiesced without a further thought. Admittedly I was sending them away from me, so had they been weird girls I would have been fine anyway. Although with that said, some purposes can go quite wrong. At the bus stop an odd, drunk and wet looking young man was asking everyone for a "ciggie". He was apparently too drunk to understand nobody smoked.

[note: why, when people ask for cigarettes, is the negative response usually "I don't smoke" rather than a mere "no"? Seems to me like a subconscious moral highground]

From his appearance you could tell that you wanted to stay away from this creep. He was leering at a lady with her baby. The same lady had been leered at by a man whilst actually ON the bus; a man who had interjected into my conversation with an old school friend at what most would deem unacceptable intervals. As soon as the interrupter spoke of being stoned I knew we wouldn't be paying much more attention to him. Speaking openly about taking drugs with people you don't know, especially in public places, is something I have also noted to be a significant "no-no". So I felt bad for this poor woman with her baby who appeared to be all alone at the bus stop. I was just lucky that I had someone to stand with while I waited for my mum.