There are strange people in this world...

A few days ago my great friend Erin and I explored Madison, GA mostly because Erin was researching for an article about a certain Confederate Sgt. that was brutally assassinated. How do I know such things? Well, it's because on another excursion Erin took me to, she found a grave plot along US 441 stating along the lines of... "he was brutally assassinated in Morgan County".
Erin is bonkers for these type of stuff, so naturally she went on a research haywire conjuring up plans of tracking down descendants, finding treasure, scandals, mystery... that sort of thing.
I didn't mind tagging along because it reminded me of the days when I wanted to be Nancy Drew. Turns out, my inner Nancy Drew found a partner with Erin's icon, Harriet the spy.
So here we are ready to embark on finding something cool going around historic Madison stopping first by the archivist's office, only to find they didn't come to work that day, and finding the same for the town historian. They must have gone on a date.
Well, we weren't going to let a perfect day go to waste and we instead discovered many of Madison's charming little antebellum houses, quaint streets and an equally quaint shopping district downtown.
We went to a lot of stores until we discovered a new favorite, The Laughing Moon, owned by these two little (and cute) old ladies, and a store full of neat and fabulous and random things. We shopped and most proud of finding Erin two absolutely gorgeous and floral tops.
If you knew Erin, she almost never wears florals. And I'm now happy to announce that Erin is in fact a good looking girly-girl. Not to say she doesn't look great as a non-girly girl, but boys when you see my friend in all the florals and feminine silhouette... well, let's just say she's a knocj out.

But the main story today is not really about Erin's shopping finds (sorry.)

What does an Old creeper, a bum, Selena and Britney Spears have to do with each other?

We stopped by the Chophouse for a quick bite and ate on the patio to enjoy the sunshine. It was pretty quiet as we had lunch in the late afternoon.
A few tables behind us sat an older man wearing a loose cut-off t-shirt, a hat, and a pair of cut-off jean shirts and sunglasses. His beer belly was poking out a bit from under his shirt and he was sipping a beer.

We were just minding our business and chatting away when out of nowhere the man says:

"Hey ladies, I'm gonna have to not let you buy me a drink... haha."

Erin and I just looked at him, giggled politely.

"No really, you can't buy my beverage."

Like we were really thinking about it...

After telling him, no-no we won't buy a drink at all and just when we were to resume our own little conversation, he proceeds to take of his hat, revealing a balded head and smiles at us maniacally and says something like:

"I got a haircut and I told them to cut my hair like Jack Nicholson's... do I look like Jack Nicholson?"

(Our happy hour man look-alike)

Actually, he did look like Jack Nicholson... creepily so. And he creeped us out just like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" would.
Erin concluded that it's probably how he picks women up, or at least flirt with them all the time.

Then a homeless black man was walking down the street and waved at me... I waved back.
Mostly because I wasn't really thinking about it. It was a reflex thing. My hand just went up.
He then walked towards our table and sat down. I guess he took it as an invitation instead of a friendly gesture. But I'm pretty sure my hand motion went in the way as "wax-on and wax-off" would and nothing like a come hither and dine with me type of motion.
And he wanted to bum a couple dollars off me.



And he thought Erin looked like Britney Spears. And I looked like the Mexican crooner, Selena. Yes, the one that Jennifer Lopez Played way back when she was still a starlet...
"Mike" who's last name will be withheld kept telling us interchangeably that we were gorgeous.

I couldn't really understand what he was saying... But here were some memorable ones that I understood and some that Erin translated for me:

(To me) Oooooh-weee, that mole. oooh wee. I straighten up for you...
(To Erin) You married? You date a black man before? Cause you gorgeous.

The restaurant crew was pretty worried about us and kept checking on us regularly asking if Mike was bothering us.

First the waitress came, and then suddenly, I turned around and there was a pretty mean looking man, apron and all, standing behind me and staring Mike down.

Then came the manager who asked (by sugar coating the word begging) if he was soliciting.

We both knew that the man was harmless. He even showed us his I.D. saying over and over again that it's hard because in his words he was a made the manager come out and ask him to leave. That it was hard for him to live a daily life because of his status.

I understand where his coming from. It would be hard to trust a homeless man with an opportunity to do something, much less a decent living. But I'm not quite that sympathetic to his plight when he approached us with bloodshot eyes and the smell of liquor on him.

He said he did some landscaping work sometimes. He was able-bodied enough to walk around, and he had all his limbs intact.

I do not mean to be crass, but I feel like he's putting himself in that position and color is not so much a deciding factor to his fate.

The n-word as my boyfriend puts it, is a derogatory word. It defines a low, good-for-nothing bum, who is not interesting in succeeding in life or making opportunities happen. The n-word applies to both black and white people and all other colors in between. A black person is someone just like the rest of us who is educated and dedicated. Someone who strives for a better life.

I'm sad to say that although I feel sad for his situation, I do not sympathize with him. Mainly because I feel like he has put himself in that situation. Food is priority. Never the thirst.

Erin made a deal with him that if she bought him a burger and a drink, that he would eat it elsewhere.

And then Erin, being Erin, decided to kid around one more time and tease the man about us bringing him out in town. He was ever excited and wanted to know how long we were in town because he has a couple of friends.

For safety purposes, Erin and I in fact told him a white lie. We were just passer-by's going through Madison, nowhere near town so he won't be tempted to find us.

So, on went Mike and his burger...

"We friends, aight?"

Yes Mike. We Friends.


A'floatin down the river

After a strange day of attempted discovery, exploration and strange people, Erin and I decided we would chillax by lazily floating down the Ocmulgee River. Which towards the end we decide we'd just actually anchor our butts, floaties and all, and enjoy my one beer (to Erin's several) and watch the sunset.

It was my second time floating the river... the first an experience courtesy of my beau. And I was not yet comfortable doing so. We didn't nearly go as far as I had reached my first go round but it was late. The water was inviting, the scenery serene... It was the perfect summer day.