What is it about men being so quick to interpret greetings as flirtations? You say "hello" to one and they think you're in love with them! This is particularly awkward being a guy myself.
When I went jogging yesterday I greeted everyone who I came across, as I do. Some young dude was oncoming so I gave him a friendly "hey how ya doing?" He made no reply except to let out a strange spluttering half laugh and warped half smile as he half looked at me. His meaning was clear: he was managing to be embarrassed and mock me simultaneously. It was like I had, in the words of the music group TLC, hollered at him from the passenger side of my best friend's ride. I proceeded to run far away from him for our mutual comfort. The encounter made me think about how simply being friendly isn't always simple.
One guy I met while biking took things too far in the opposite direction. That's another story but I'll tell it now. I was zipping along beside the railroad tracks, beginning on a bridge and continuing on a steep gravel mound with just enough room on one side to cycle. I was peddling like mad, first gaining speed on the train bridge to sustain me over the course gravel ahead. I flew off the little lip at the end of the bridge and continued to really put my knees into it. Two burly humanoid creatures were ambling toward me and one of them was in my lane. Usually if people are walking toward me at this point they will step between the tracks and give me room to go by — not this guy. With an embankment on one side and tracks on the other, he forced me to bleed away all my precious momentum and come to a stop in front of him. He then proceeded to regale me with lightly creepy conversation. I'm a small man so I periodically need to deal with a range of shit that includes this. He forced a non-reciprocated hug onto me and then told me to "pedal faster!" as I got on my bike to get away. Strange bird that one. I can understand what some women put up with. It seems if I'm not bumping into weirdos I'm mistaken for one; but that's a story I will save for another day.
