Weird Human Interactions

 I had a short list of just five items that I needed to grab at the grocery store. I scored an excellent parking space and ventured inside. In the produce section I saw a woman drop her sun hat on the floor. I was an aisle over so it took me a minute to get over to it and scoop it up. I then proceeded to stalk this elderly couple for half the length of the store so I could return her hat. I called out to them several times but they either didn't hear me or decided to ignore the crazy woman in hot pursuit of them. When I finally got her attention she was very happy to have her hat back. They both continued to thank me profusely and followed me down the cereal aisle. The man then extended his hand in which he was gripping a five dollar bill. He wanted to pay me for returning his wife's hat! I said, no, no, not necessary, I was happy to do it. They thanked me again and turned around to finish their shopping. Things were pretty normal until I was at the self checkout. As I was leaving, a man who had two small children in his cart pointed at my shirt and said, that's me. Did I mention that I was wearing my David Bowie shirt? I was. I replied, you're David Bowie? He said no, just David. I responded, oh, good, because he's dead. He said, my condolences, and made a sweeping gesture for me to precede him through the exit doors. Both of these encounters left me feeling odd. I also felt myself longing for a more substantial connection with another human. One that cuts out the small talk and goes directly to soul searching questions. An interaction that would leave me smiling instead of puzzled. I'm out of practice. But I remember this sort of thing fondly.