One-sided conversation** which took place at Wal-Mart this morning. (And here I thought I could just bip in and buy diapers with nary a problem.) Please keep in mind that I was three people behind in line when this conversation began so there were plenty of spectators and it seemed to go on for.ev.er.
Cashier (eyeing Georgia and all but yelling): Hi sweetie! Hi girl!
I gotta' cousin with Down syndrome. She's a diva. She's a diva, don't let nobody tell you no different. I go over there to play with them and she's all hand on her hip, 'I wanna' play by myself!' She don't talk much, but she let's you know she want's to play by herself. She's a diva!
Hi, girl! Give me some sugar, there!
I go down the group home and I work with some them kids. So sad. But they so happy I go there. So glad I go spend time with them.
But my cousin, No sir! She's a diva!
This sort of thing goes on for a LONG time, no one else is saying anything. Occasionally one of the other customers gives her a half smile or nod. I just sort of...breathe.
Meanwhile Georgia bites my finger. It's a total accident and also my fault--I was trying to brush some cracker crumbs off Gs mouth by pushing them INTO her mouth and OOPS! Of course, I don't want all these people to think she just randomly bit me so I pry my finger out of her mouth with nary a whimper even though SHOOT! She was biting hard!
I don't go undetected. A tall man in the aisle over has been observing the whole thing. I avert my eyes.
This entire time the cashier is going on about her cousin and the people she works with. I am not exactly upset or anything, just feel put on the spot. Like a specatacle. Like Georgia is a spectacle. I mean, the woman is NICE enough and she DOES work with these people she keeps talking about. I mean, she just doesn't have any sense of decorum.
Anyway, finally it is our turn in line. There are plenty of people behind us...I don't know what she was saying up to this point because I was kind of glazed over, but then she starts talking TO Georgia. Georgia, unaware of what the lady is saying is giving big smiles. I am glad she is smiling and not having some kind of tantrum, but it also bugs me that she is being SO showy for this woman--usually lately she is shy.
Anyhow, the woman is saying...wait for it....
You normal! Right, girl? Give me some. Give me some sugar. You normal. You tell them. This could have happened to you! Right, girl. Are you a diva? Yeah! You are normal, right? This could have happend to you! You tell them, this could have happened to you! It could have happened to me!
You normal, girl! You normal!. You normal! You normal! You normal!
and so on....
And while the message, admittedly, was more or less, on par with what I'd like people to think...the delivery...well that had much to be desired. Or maybe not. I dunno. Maybe I prefer this kind of delivery if you are going to say ANYTHING. But you know, we're not freaks on parade.
*My sister and I often abreve words and this is a common phrase in our lexicon.
**Maybe one day these things will happen and I will not feel a compulsive urge to share them, but at the same time I hope they never become SO commonplace that I just plain old get used to them.
