Friday, January 5, 2007

The Kindness of Strangers

Unlike Blanche DuBois, I never rely on the kindness of strangers. The fact that I don't rely on the kindness of strangers doesn't mean that I don't encounter kind people on a regular basis... I do.

Yesterday was a good example of the kind of thing that happens to me on a regular basis. I went to a local bead shop in old town Alexandria, just to get some seed beads to make a new rosary, and when I got there, one of the two women that were in the shop decided to chat me up... I suppose just because of the oddity of seeing a man in a bead store (or because I am so damned handsome).

Anyway, after a brief conversation, this woman and her companion (turns out that it was her mother) paid for their items and left the store. I finished a few minutes later and the lady at the check-out counter handed me a sectioned ceramic bead dish and told me that the women that had just left wanted me to have it and bought it for me.

How cool was that?

For those of you in the DC or northern Virginia area, if you ever need to purchase any beads, please give the folks at Bead Obsessions a visit. The shop was opened just a little over a year ago by a very nice young woman, named Patricia, that wanted to pursue her passion for beading. She left her job and plowed her life's savings into her business, and really seems to be making a go of it.

The shop is on South Washington street. Please go and support this locally owned and operated business.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's definitely because you are SO damned handsome!

Anonymous said...

Wait... strange women are buying you beads?

I'm not sure that qualifies as "kindness" my dear friend. More like "lust"

-CM

Gunfighter said...

Janet,

You are such a sweetie.

CM,

I suspect the few women lust after me, CM

Kelley said...

Did you edit out the part where they left a phone number, too? ;)

Gunfighter said...

cTo tell you the truth, Kelley, I really do think that they were just being nice.

Anonymous said...

I just love stories like that! There really are kind and decent people out there. I hope you enjoy your bead dish.

Lisa Johnson said...

This reminds me of that car commercial for .... I can't remember the company, so I guess it isn't that good of a commercial. Anyway, it's something about making bold moves.

The woman is going through a drive-thru paying for her dry-cleaning. She sees a cute guy behind her in her rear-view window. While she is paying for her shirts, she pays for a couple of his shirts and asks the woman to give him her business card.

Even if she was trying to pick you up, it was a nice gesture! : )

Gunfighter said...

I confess to being a wee bit strange, but I am really sure there was no such effort going on.

Zanne said...

You charmer you! ;)

Anonymous said...

What a great story...love it!

Tasha said...

Awww, how nice. And did they leave you an invitation to lunch also? You've really got a way with the ladies, GF *wink*

Grimm said...

Methinks someone has been wearing his kilt out of the house again!

Gunfighter said...

You know... one of the best things about this post is that no one asked me about the identity of Blanche DuBois.