Defender of the Weird...

I was on my break today enjoying a bowl of frozen yogurt and watching CNN. I was vaguely aware of the program as I was musing about some things that were on my mind at the time. Ok, I was thinking about Salsa dancing, but more on that another time. Anyway, sitting on the table in front of me was one of our resident employee weirdos. Now this guy, whom we’ll call Anton, usually sits alone, doesn’t really have any friends and talks to himself often (no, it’s not me, I swear). I, myself, am aware of him from the many years I’ve worked at my job, also he had tried to change departments once and I had talked to him about it, but admittedly I have never really gotten to know him. (The photo is a gross exaggeration) For now, we’ll let Anton be.

I make it a point to sit off by myself on break (Unless I see Karl, Crasskins or a few others that know who you are) because I like to sit silently and just zone out or write down ideas, phrases or thoughts (hey, that’s how I take a break.) Everything was going okay (or at least as relaxing as a break can be in that place) when around the corner, SHE came. She, whom we’ll call Leona, is the same person that harasses my good buddy Karl regarding his vegetarianism and other choices he has made. Yes, she’s that bitch from Karl’s blog. She proceeds to pull up a chair and sit right next to me. Now, I could just ignore her (and mostly I do) but something about her presence, her very aura, radiates outward and makes me feel uncomfortable. You must understand; she’s opinionated (which isn’t bad on it’s own), pushy, closed minded, bossy, ignorant and delights in proving herself superior to others (even though she’s not). The other big problem with her is that our bosses let her get away with this behavior, over and over. She represents several archetypical traits of what I hate most about humanity (or lack thereof).

So, CNN is talking about some twin brother mass murderer and the details surrounding the case. The psychologist that is analyzing the last letter from the murderer uses terms like lonely, reclusive, bored and unbalanced. As the story ends, Anton gets up and states (to no one in particular) “An idle mind can lead to bad things, that’s why it’s best to stay busy and active.” It was articulated very coherently. I chuckled a bit because, I (being a relative loner and currently undergoing a bit of pre middle-aged renaissance) feel that it’s vitally important to look inward and face yourself so that you may grow from it. While keeping busy can be good (and productive) keeping too busy can hide you from yourself. (Yeah, I know, existential bullshit!)

After Anton walks away, Leona pipes up (apparently assuming my chuckle was a shallow insult toward Anton) saying, “What the hell is he talking about! He doesn’t even make any sense. The least he could do is keep his mouth shut.” Or something pretty close to this. The hackles on my neck rose. How dare she! Anton never messes with anybody and when he decides to talk, and actually has an opinion, this bitch is going to assert her lousy two cents! I stayed calm (I am at work after all) and I proceeded to explain to her what he had meant and why (Okay, I did make some assumptions of Anton’s personality, but I’m reasonably sure they were accurate) then I went on to exactly why I chuckled. The best part was that she didn’t say a word. She stayed silent and seated the whole time and even after. Of course she could've thought I was an idiot, but who cares about that, she just stayed silent. Now, this may not seem like much, but I’m confidant that Karl will vouch for the fact that getting this royal pain in the ass to shut up is pretty damned impressive.

What's even more important in all of this is that Anton, being a resident wierdo, actually had something to say. It wasn't offensive it was just his opinion. Leona had nothing to say and would have been better off heeding her own advice. As for myself, I guess I can't keep my mouth shut either.