Strange Encounters

We went out to dinner and Marian, Evan, and I were ahead of Blair and Daniel. So we paused to wait for them in the lobby where there was a large group of 20-something girls. One girl was looking at me strangely and I thought she must know me from somewhere but I did not recognize her. After a pause, she came over and introduced herself and asked if she could hug me. 1st thought: "That was not what I was expecting." 2nd thought: "Will the weirdness in Utah never end?" 3rd thought: "She's either doing research for Sociology 101 or she is a pick pocket." 4th: "Oh man, she's a Jehovah's Witness." 5th thought: (and by this time the silent pause is getting awkward) "Why not, my purse is zipped." So I give her the ol' "half hug" and she steps back into her group (who are all watching).

Enter Evan. He says in a loud voice, "Mom, why did that lady hug you." I say, truthfully, "I don't know son, I don't know." Enter Woman B, taller and more robust than woman A. To Evan, "Do you want a hug?" Evan thinks it over and not surprisingly takes her up on it...with a twist. He grabs around her neck and lifts his feet. Since he is solid like a diesel, he pulls her over forward and she exclaims to her group that he has a full body hug and does he get it from his mom. So she comes to me to see for herself.

By this time I am getting twitchy but not to worry, here comes Blair. So I say, "Well, here comes my husband, do you want to try him too?" So she hugs him and he quickly ascertains that I don't know these women, due largely to my hasty flight from the restaurant. Later he tells me that Woman C also hugs him. I am sure I will pay for that somehow, someday, but honestly I can't handle too much of the hugging of strange women and I figure better him than me. (BTW, we both checked and we are not missing wallets or cell phones nor were any devices planted on us. Blair says I read too many espionage books but you never know when that will come in handy.)