Staring at Your Phone – Thoughts from August 23 and 25, 2022

August 23, 2022

I just saw a large gentleman wearing black shorts with white socks that went all the way up his legs until they disappeared into his shorts. What is the use of wearing shorts if you’re going to cover up your legs with socks. Besides the fact that it looks completely ridiculous, it accomplishes the same thing as long pants (without the ridiculousness). I’m sure he has to wear the socks because of circulation issues. The top half of your body can only get so large before your bottom half develops problems. The first thing I noticed about him was the scowl on his face. Every step was a strain you could see on his face.

Every day, I see people strain to get to where they are going because of health issues. They are usually large, old, or a combination of the two. I feel sorry for them, but know there’s nothing they can be told that will get past what they believe is wrong with them. Their physical problems stem from years of ignoring their unhealthy behaviors, which develop into bad habits. It’s hard to watch people making most of their lives miserable just for a few moments of pleasure or convenience. Some people develop a waddle in their walk. It’s the walk they have just before they can’t walk anymore. My grandmother had this walk until it confined her to an extra wide wheelchair.

Some people can only talk about places to eat, the best food they’ve had, or foods they will never eat. Most of the foods they don’t like are vegetables, fruits, or other healthy foods. I don’t enjoy most food conversations because the only thing most people focus on is how the food tastes. I’m only interested in healthy foods that taste good. Even talking about healthy foods doesn’t hold my interest long. I can talk about my cravings for certain foods, but I don’t eat based on my cravings most of the time. Some people only eat what they are craving. Those people develop the health problems I discussed in the previous paragraphs.

I’m sitting in silence with other people right now. Everyone is looking at their phones or other electronic devices. I don’t like it. I’d rather talk about food than sit silently with other people. Distracting myself by writing my thoughts helps, but not enough. All the other people are younger than me. If I were in here with another old person like me, we would probably be talking right now. As it is – silence. I’m going to the restroom. That will distract me. I hope no one is acting weird in there, though. Wish me luck! (Intermission music plays.) I’m back. Sure enough, there was someone in the bathroom just sitting in the stall right next to the urinal. There was a stall further away from the urinal, but he chose to be so close to the urinal that I can see his feet while I’m there. Luckily, I had enough time, so I went to a bigger restroom in another building.

August 25, 2022

Today is my sixth straight day of working in a row. I’m tired and cranky. Hopefully, this day is over quickly. I only have about five hours left. Yay! At least I didn’t agree to stay late tonight. Patti just told me about a branch from one of our trees in the backyard that fell down. I guess I know one thing I’m doing tomorrow. I also need to vacuum. Patti will probably want me to fix the misplaced boards in the closet. I’m not saying who misplaced them, but her name sounds like tabby. I love her too much to sully her name like that.

I was listening to a book by Samantha Irby. She was talking about “her people” who were black people but black women especially. I was sitting in a breakdown and interacting with a young man who was clearly on the autism spectrum. If anyone is part of my people, it’s people with autism. I understand them better than I understand most people. Most people’s behavior seems illogical and borderline unethical. People with autism do not use sarcasm or speak in metaphors. They mean what they say and say what they mean. I am not fond of lying and I suspect other people with autism feel the same. It’s only when people with autism have to deal with people without autism that we have trouble.