I was walking downtown today, and it was a pretty bleak day. I passed a bus stop, one of those plexiglass enclosure things, with several people inside. There was a light rain. And a woman inside yelled my first name. Then yelled it again. There's no mistake, she clearly said my name. I stopped and looked at her, and she said, "Why did you tell Jackie that (a name -- either it was intelligible or I don't remember) was dating a man instead of a woman?" I said, "What?" And she repeated, "Why did you tell Jackie that (
*?) was dating a man instead of a woman?!" She looked possibly homeless, and I had been searching her face, trying to find a hint of some recognizable feature in this person. Could she have been someone I'd known or worked with before who has fallen on hard times? After a half a second of deliberation, I said, "I don't know what you're talking about!" But not cruelly, at least I hope not, and kept walking. There were several people inside the bus thing, but as I recall, they didn't seem to pay much attention. I've lived in this area for only about 5 yrs and probably haven't left that great of a social footprint. I couldn't detect
anything in this woman that reminded me of anyone I've ever known. I talked to my mother on the phone tonite, but never mentioned it. But suddenly, repeating the story, I've got the damn creeps! The only Jackie I can recall was a cousin by marriage I haven't seen since she & I were kids. You know what bothers me? How the f-ck did she know my name! What was this? Am I gonna die?!!