7:08 p.m. | 2003-02-20 Do You Believe In Magic? The other night, I witnessed a rather odd encounter while waiting for the shuttle. As I�ve mentioned previously, I park elsewhere and get shuttled to my WorkPlace because Downtown has parking issues. The shuttle vehicles range from small commuter-type vans to large tour busses, they come in a variety of colors and some have �Shuttle� painted on them while others have the name of the transportation company on their flanks. To add to the whole general mystique surrounding this alternative transportation system, the shuttle stops are invisible. They aren�t marked by any signs and they�re somewhat fluid � as long as you�re within 20 feet or so of the invisible stop, you�re officially at the stop. My stop is on the corner of a very busy Downtown intersection. About mid-way down the sidewalk, there are approximately six marked stops for other busses, including a bus bench and shelter area. So if you�re passing by this block, you may see some people standing near the corner and then many other people gathered near the multiple, marked bus stops. Basically, shuttle riders appear to just be loitering about on the sidewalk. Now, because all the people along this passage are waiting for some sort of bus, they/we also act as a captured audience for street preachers, beggars, the mentally ill, lonely elderly people, tourists, ex-cons and drunk/drugged folks who have a bone to pick with� well, any easy target. It�s quite an interesting little place to hang out, that�s for sure. Anyway, I was standing at the shuttle stop with another shuttler (AS) when a man (M) approached us. He didn�t appear to be homeless and he wasn�t dirty or smelly (besides the lovely scent of alcohol) yet you could just tell something was a little off. And off it was. (M:) It�s nice to see two such lovely ladies on this lovely evening. (CI:) (Acknowledging him with a head nod then averting my eyes. That�s the respectful way to say, �I acknowledge you, now move along please�.) (AS:) Thank you. (M:) (Stops directly in front of AS because she has now spoken with him and didn�t avert her eyes quickly enough.) How are you doing? (AS:) I�m fine, thank you. (M:) You know, I�m a reader. (AS:) A what? (M:) A reader. A life reader. A spiritual life reader. I read people�s lives. I see a man in your life� (CI:) (Thinking: �Oh my God! It�s Mr. Cleo and he�s giving her a free psychic reading right here at the shuttle stop! Oh this is too funny!� And, turning my back to them because I start laughing. I�m doing that silent shoulder-shaking laugh that they always did on The Carole Burnett Show.) (AS:) Yes, there�s a man in my life. (M:) Ahhh, but there�s a little problem isn�t there? It�s another woman. There�s another woman in the picture. (AS:) No there isn�t. I assure you that there is no other woman. (CI:) (Thinking: �Come on AS, say something freaky. The only way to get rid of these guys is to act crazy. You�re walking right into his trap.� In fact, I would have said something crazy on her behalf but I don�t really know her.) (M:) You know, you are a VERY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. (Then he turns, looks directly in my eyes and says�) No offense. (CI:) None taken. In fact, I agree with you that she�s a very pretty woman. (AS:) (Rather startled and looking at me.) Thank you! (M:) But there is this other woman in your man�s life. (AS:) No, there is no other woman. (CI:) (Trying to keep my laughter contained.) (M:) You know, I can help you get rid of this other woman. (AS:) THERE IS NO OTHER WOMAN!!! (M:) All I need is a lock of her hair� (AS:) Oh, now that�s just voodoo there. You�re talking all voodoo now. (Giving him �the hand�.) (M:) I can help you� (AS:) That�s my shuttle right there� gotta go. So later, I was sharing this story with another colleague, Jewel, because she got the exact same spiel when she had someone do a tarot card reading for her (with regular playing cards � because, you know, you can do a more accurate tarot card reading with regular cards!) and when she had her palm read. Now Jewel knows that you have to act crazy sometimes so she told me about a recent experience she had with another colleague, Lucy while they were walking Downtown. Here�s that. (Man:) (To Lucy.) Oh, you are so pretty. I really want to marry you. Really, I do. You should marry me. You know, I hang out at the park and you should come visit me in the park because I really want to marry you. (Jewel:) (To the man.) She doesn�t have much luck when it comes to marriage. (To Lucy.) How many times have you been married Lucy? Ten? And, how many ended up dead? Was it eight? Didn�t they find them in your backyard, Lucy? In fact, isn�t there still an active case on your last husband they found dead? (To the man.) Really, she just doesn�t have any luck when it comes to marriage. It�s sad, actually. (Man:) Uh, I gotta go now. (Walking away quickly.) I told Jewel that I really had to bite my tongue during the psychic reading because I had this urge to tell him that I was the other woman and I was having an affair with her, not her husband. However, I don�t know the other shuttler well enough to just jump in with some crazy talk. It would�ve worked though. your thoughts? seed flower