Yesterday, while walking back from Target, I made a point to smile and say hi to just about anyone I crossed paths with. Despite carrying the large bag of cat litter (I have to go back now, I'm almost out of cat food), I was in a great mood. I like walking places. I like walks in general.

Anywho, I walked passed a slightly crazy looking guy and smiled and said "hi." I had my headphones on and was rocking out to 80's music, but I think he said hi back. I set down the bag of cat litter a few feet past him and stretched out a little. He came back up to me and said hi and asked my name.

Normally when a stranger does this, especially a slight crazed looking one, I know he's about to ask for money. But Tom didn't ask for money. I took off my headphones and said my name was AJ. He offered his hand told me his name was Tom. His speech patterns told me he wasn't quite all there. But he asked me if I liked beer. I said yes (obviously) and he said maybe we could get a drink sometime. I was kind of shocked, but said maybe. He said he lived on West Street and asked if I lived around there. I told him I lived up on Lake street.

He looked genuinely happy to have someone to talk to. Now I know what you're thinking (especially Dani, cause she reminds all the time that I live on the "West Side" of Cleveland), but I really got the feeling he was just looking for a friend. He reiterated that we should go to a bar and have a drink sometime, and gave me a scrape of paper with his name and phone number on it. Really, its a scrape, a piece of cardboard. He didn't ask for my number. Just said "Nice to meet you, give me a call sometime and we can get a beer." And then after shaking hands again he continued walking down the street. The whole thing was maybe a minute or two long.



Now when I said that he is not all there, I meant it. He spoke very loud, had weird vocal intonations, and I think I saw a tic in his face. But he was nice, and I really do get the feeling he just wanted to make a new friend. The way he walked was a little off. And he was a little unkempt, but generally a just a nice guy.

I found the scrape of paper while folding up my jeans from yesterday. I had honestly forgotten all about Tom. Who knows, maybe I'll give a call when I head to Now That's Class next week.