August 06, 2005

At the market today a strange man tried to sell me underwear.

“Hey, you, you need some underwear?” he asked. That’s perhaps the creepiest way to start a conversation.

“You don’t even know me,” I said, secretly afraid of him. Somehow he must have know that I didn’t have time to put up a pair of underwear this morning.

“Where are you from?”

“Romania,” I said.

“Is there a war there?”

“Not that I know of.”

“You speak good English. Most Romanians don’t.”

“Umm … thanks. I guess.” I still didn’t want any of his underwear. I felt more free not wearing any.

He told me about India.

“Listen, I gotta go,” I said.

“Come back here if you need underwear,” he said.

Underwear sellers are friendly and persistent.