Sign of the Times

CONSERVATISM

While riding on the Red Line yesterday night going to Manray (so, of course, we were dressed all goth), we had a "run-in" with a few of the "better people" of this world. There was an extremely conservative looking young married couple sitting on the train across from us. The girl kept staring, then she'd whisper something to her husband, and they'd both start giggling and then he'd stare and whisper something to her and they'd laugh it up. This continued on for a period of time, at which point I had had enough, so I looked right at her and said, "I know, we're so fucking funny," and then burst into peals of laughter myself. She looked away and pretended that she didn't know I was talking to her. Every once in a while, she or her husband would look back at us quickly, and then I would say something like "it's a good thing I'm learning martial arts," or "I like breaking boards, but cracking skulls is even better," or "yeah, I know laugh it up...people that look like us are just so goddamn funny."

At one point, Beth turned to me and said, "I think she may be his mail-order bride." And that is, indeed, what it did look like. And maybe the two of them had never seen people who looked like us. That may happen to those trapped in a conservative world. However, I must say, someone recently did call me both conservative and traditional...which, as all of you know, simply couldn't be any further from the truth.

Regardless, at the end of our journey, as we were getting off the train at Central Square, I said to the guy, "I'm glad we could be of entertainment to you tonight." He turned bright red, and looked away quickly.

Once again, working on our summer goal: instilling fear in those we meet...