8:12 p.m. | 2003-05-14 The Farmer�s Market. The Farmer�s Market is back! Yay! It�s held weekly in a park near work. There are sidewalks that run from each corner of the park to the circular plaza in the center. Food wagons set up in the middle and all the farmers fill the outside perimeter with their stands. The air was filled with excitement, while people bustled about enjoying the beautiful day. Everyone gets giddy about the opening season of the market. The park was filled with local workers, residents, transients, cops and youngsters. And, I don�t know why, but there appeared to be an overabundance of TALL people today. So, in addition to almost being run over by a bicycle cop, I got stepped on and jostled about quite a bit. Some of the worse offenders? Tall women who toss their purses over their shoulders every couple of minutes. They always managed to thwack me in the head, face or shoulders with their incredibly large handbags. Anyway, I purchased some green beans, fava beans, cucumbers, cherries, asparagus, flowers and chili-lemon seasoned pistachios. But, by far, the best thing about the market is actually looking the growers right in the eye while you purchase the produce/flowers, etc. they labored away to provide for the rest of us. They�re proud too, rightfully so, of their products. And, they know they�re accountable for it. If they don�t sell you good quality stuff at a fair price, YOU won�t come back. See, they know YOUR face. There�s an energy and a connection in a transaction like that which you don�t experience when you buy stuff in the grocery store. Who knows where the oranges come from in the grocery store. They might even come from a different country. But there�s not a lot of accountability there. If the store carries crappy stuff on a regular basis, you might choose not to shop there anymore, but who cares? There are enough consumers out there to fill the gap you leave. Not so much with the Farmer�s Market. As technology has developed, people have become more and more isolated from each other and their communities. Now people walk around talking on their cell phones completely oblivious to the people around them. You call a company but discover you can�t actually talk to a person, or you get a person who�s actually many states away and has no involvement in your community. Some transactions are so automated that there�s minimal, if any, human involvement. Don�t get me wrong. Technology is also a good thing. But it has changed our relationships with each other. On a different note, although I�ve mentioned Security Guard (SG) before, I�ve never mentioned his sidekick, Building Guy (BG). I don�t know what BG�s official title is, but he�s in charge of all the maintenance/functioning kind of things in the building. You tell BG when the toilet overflows, flames shoot out of the wall, or the air/heat is all out of whack. He�s a nice, and competent, guy, but he�s quite shy compared to SG. However, SG and BG hang out, when they�re not busy, at SG�s Witness Stand (station). I always talk to both of them but I have more of relationship with SG as he�s quite a bit more outgoing and we have friends in common. When I get to work in the morning, BG is usually sitting at the Witness Stand as SG comes in a little later (and stays a little later). We always greet each other and he�s party to a lot of conversations SG and I have. Anyway, when Colleague and I went to lunch the other day, BG was sitting at the Witness Stand as we were leaving the building. This is that. (CI:) Hi BG. (Colleague:) Hi BG. (BG:) Hi Colleague. Long silence as we�re walking toward the door. (CI:) (Turning around.) What BG? You�re not going to say hi to me too? (BG:) (Embarrassed.) I�m sorry. Right when I was going to say hi to you I forgot your name. I know your name but I really just can�t remember what it is right now. (CI:) I understand. Trust me, I understand. Does Cruel-Irony ring a bell? (BG:) Oh yeah. That�s it. I remember now. So, since then, every single time he sees me he says: Hi, CRUEL-IRONY. You know, just so I know that he does know my name. It cracks me up. Every time. your thoughts? seed flower