Thursday, March 19, 2009

a strange occurance at the bodega

i believe i have mentioned that i am not thrilled about the selection of bodegas in the immediate vicinity surrounding The Paradise. they are pretty "ghetto." not like the fabulous bodega run by kurds near my old apartment. but lately i've been going into this one ghetto bodega to get tea in the morning on my way to the bus. they know me, as i am the only white girl who goes in there. at least, i personally have never seen another white girl in there.

now, i'd like to put it out there that since working at library-in-the-hood, i have developed a decent tolerance to "hood antics." but even i was a little taken aback at what i witnessed this morning ...

i walk into the store and there is a man at the counter weilding a large knife at the guy behind the counter. they're chit-chatting in a jovial manner, so i quickly assume that they are friends. now, when i say weilding a large knife ... i'm not talking about some hunting knife or switch blade ... i am talking about some fancy asian style crazy curly cue filet your victim kind of knife.

"can i have a large tea with milk and one sugar?" i ask, as the man beside me says that the knife isn't sharp enough and that he would rather use a boxcutter because you could really tear into someone pretty easily with a boxcutter. then he slides the blade over his hand and exclaims, "oh wait, it IS sharp."

nice! as i am waiting for my tea, he tells me not to worry. i say, "that's cool, do what you gotta do."

then he tells me that he can't help but notice that i am very pretty. he asks me my age and i tell him i am the big 3 - 0. then he says that he is shocked and that he thought i was 18 or 19. i believe this must be because i decided to wear a barette in my hair today. takes decades off your age.

then he asks if i am married, and i tell him no but i am dating someone. he asks if i love him, and i say yes i do, hoping that this will soon put an end to our conversation. then he turns back to the counter guy, caressing his hand jokingly, saying "and i love this guy right here."

"oh yeah," i say, "i could tell by the way your waved your knife at him."

then we all have a good chuckle, and i get my tea and walk out the door, wishing everyone a good day.

and that was my morning.

6 comments:

*Bitch Cakes* said...

woah. I'd be pretty terrified he was going to turn around and start using that thing. You never know how crazy people are. Srsly. BTW, I think I will try that barrette trick!

Her Mother said...

I'd be happy to send you a truckload of tea. Would you consider NOT going to that bodega?

Miss Dewey Decimal said...

well ... i could skip going to the bodega, but i doubt it will make a difference. i ran into that guy about 5 minutes later at the bus stop ;)

p.s. it's not the tea that's a problem (the bolshevik stole me loads of tea from his old job). it's the fact that i never have milk.

*Bitch Cakes* said...

Ms Dewey- I think there's a simple remedy to that situation. What kind of milk do you like? I can bring you some :) xo

Her Mother said...

Good idea Bitch Cakes--
Sometimes it takes a Village to care for our Ms Dewey Decimal!

Miss Dewey Decimal said...

i bought milk ... but i still stand by my belief that knife-wielding bodega patrons can easily leave said bodega and walk the half block to the bus stop where i will now be standing with my thermos of tea.