Bare Butts and Tamales

 

Ah, the weather is beautiful this weekend! With temperatures of 87 to 91 degrees, a warm front is here. Unfortunately, by Tuesday it comes to an end or at least that's the forecast as of now. I'm being thankful of the sunshine we have in the moment and will deal with rain next week when it gets here. 

The weekend begins with a rather odd day. I ran around yesterday with chores to accomplish. While driving through town, there seemed to be a decent amount of traffic but nothing that was frustrating. That is until I looked in the lane next to me as I stopped at a red light. 

Have you ever seen someone that you wished you hadn't seen? That glance that makes you very uncomfortable because of the sight in front of you. You feel almost creepy because you saw something so personal, something you wish you could unsee? That was the first part of my day. 

Bored at the red light, something caught my eye to the left of me. Oh, I wish it hadn't. Why can't I learn to ignore things that my mind is screaming, "Oh, look to your left girl! Look to the left!" Good song on the radio, gorgeous weather, all is good until I looked. My head turned slightly to the left ...

Ugh. I want my mommy and I don't care who knows it. I didn't know whether to cry, laugh, be worried, or be motherly and tell the man his britches need to be yanked up. How can you not feel that? Or does he not care? Either way, not good for those around you. I did what came naturally and that was to break out in fits of laughter and grab the camera. 

But this wasn't the end of me wanting to gouge out my eyes. I pulled up into the parking lot of one of the local laundromats. I had clothing and some sheet sets that needed washing. I really hate laundromats. They cost a fortune to wash your weeks' worth of jeans and shirts and they sure do not draw in the most fantastic crowds. Today was no exception. 

I walked in and began to put my clothing into separated piles of colors and whites. The sheet sets each had a machine of their own and then the clothes were sorted to see which machine they would slosh around in for the next hour. While sorting my clothes, I began to strike up conversation with a younger woman, probably about 30 years of age. She had a lovely face. Her soft blonde hair was pulled into a high crested ponytail, with a bandana wrapped around the banded curls. It was cute. 

Her clothes were fashionable, but a bit shabby looking. As she spoke, I could tell she was intelligent, worthy of conversation. Her eyes were sparkling and her mind focused. Well, I don't know where that mind went, but later she proved to be a bit strange. All I know is I have had my fill of naked people and things I want to unsee for at least a month or two. 

This girl who showed such intelligence fifteen minutes earlier pulled her blouse up and over her head. She shoved it into a bag she had with her to put clean clothes in. Now, this left me a bit shocked, but she did still have her bra on. Okay, it's like a bikini at the beach, right? Well, she chose to take a stroll down nude beach lane a moment later. 

She stretched her arms up and crossed them to grab each side of that bra, raised her hands straight up and pulled it off. She dropped it immediately onto the unkempt floor. By this time, I was not sure what to do. Do I run? Do I sit and feel very uncomfortable?  Is this woman going to lose her mind? Has she lost it already? Should I stick around to help her find it? 

About this time a man walked through the doors with his empty basket in hand. He came to retrieve his clothing and got a glimpse of a naked woman all in one fell swoop. As he spotted her in all her glory, he looked at me with a look like a deer caught in headlights. I giggled. I've never seen a man so lost as to what to do with a half-dressed woman in view. In his defense, I'm sure I had the same look on my face too. 

Grabbing more clothes out of the dryer, she must have liked something she saw because she came back to the table and unzipped the pants she was wearing. Now it was all off. Walking through the laundromat as if she was in her own home, she chose her new outfit and slowly began to put the pieces on, topping the ensemble off with mismatched socks. Lovely. 

No, I did not get a photo of this woman, sorry guys. The stunned man in the place quit folding his clothes and rammed them into his basket as fast as he could. He threw the basket into his arms and almost ran out of the door. Poor guy. This made me giggle even more. 

I shot Terry a text, begging him to look into a washer and dryer with me as the very first thing we buy when we move next week. I never want to go back to the terrible place again. He laughed when I told him and said he wanted to get one too. Now that I settled that, I couldn't wait for my clothes to dry. Most were dry enough and the rest? Who cares. I didn't give a rat's patootie if they were dry. The weather is warm enough, right? I loaded the car with what I had packed and headed back in for the last load. 

Just then a man in a wheelchair entered, with a companion leading the way. His companion was a woman around 35 years of age. She headed toward the back of the building, where the dryers were stationed. She opened a dryer and said loudly, "Great. Your stuff is gone. Someone took your stuff." She shot me a nasty look. 

I stared right back at her, wanting her to know I did not touch their stuff. Upset by the news, the man in the wheelchair headed off to the other side of the room. I felt awful for him. While contemplating how to help them, I heard the now fully dressed lunatic speak up and say, "When I came in these clothes were folded and sitting here," as she pointed to a pile of clothes on the table. I knew this was not the case as there was nothing laying on the table when I arrived, besides a pile of her items. At least I assumed they were all hers. It was looking now as she might be just emptying dryers out and taking whatever she wanted. 

The other woman grabbed the pile and thanked her, resolving the problem. I knew then that she had tried to steal the man's clothes. It hit me she was homeless or at the very least severely struggling financially. Maybe she was just a thief, who knew at this point? When I came in earlier though, I saw her with a pair of pliers in hand, attacking a pair of pants. The pants looked new or at least newer. I couldn't tell what she was doing, but after trying to take the man's clothing, it occurred to me to look at her place in the laundromat. There were the pants, sitting on the chair next to her chair. It dawned on me at that moment she was trying to remove a theft tag from the clothing. The removal had proven to be a failure so far, but she was determined. 

I was happy the man got his clothes back, although I really had ill feelings toward the woman I had met earlier and thought pretty highly of. She had several loads of clothes, including heavy jackets and camo sweatshirts that were warmer looking. I don't care how poor she was, the thought of stealing someone else's items is just wrong. I was happy to have my last load out of the dryer. Loading up, I was ready to rush home to Terry where things are calm. 

Upon returning, I found my sweet man ready to go to dinner. We had decided to run out to the Mexican restaurant to eat. Both of us find the place very good, both price wise and the food is tastefully prepared. A bowl of ice cream when we came home and an episode of our favorite TV show episodes On Demand, and we were ready to crash. 

Very quiet day and evening on Thursday. Now I'm waiting to see what Friday brings. Hopefully people can keep their clothes on. We'll see. Enjoy the warm weather everyone!