My old man asked himself an honest question
but didn’t answer it
“Why are dysfunctional people attracted to me?”
I went to church
that evening
hoping to talk to someone
new
I am a year older than the youth pastor
and he jumped
when I spoke to him
“How’ve you been and what have you been up to?” I asked.
He told me about his humble job
of conserving electricity and managing the grounds
about coming from worldly origins, and changing his name
He spoke of Jesus and he was a nice guy
but I couldn’t talk to him
He was too busy being a nice guy
I went to the food table and loaded my plate with broccoli
avoiding the chips and soda
I looked around the room of young people
10 years younger than myself
feeling like I had stepped back in time
to a place I didn’t belong
there was a young man, sitting at a table, with his girlfriend or wife
So, I decided to introduce myself
he didn’t want to talk
we were different
and a guy named Andre sat down next to him, instead, and started talking
they busted each other’s balls and then exchanged numbers
I was disillusioned
a nice guy walked over to me with an exaggerated, smiling face
“Do you hike?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, let’s exchange numbers after the service!”
“Okay,” I said.
I was disappointed in myself
I didn’t like who liked me
Right before the service ended
I snuck out
and when I got home
my dad was talking to a fat man with hair down to his waist
“Rich just won’t leave me alone,” my dad later said.
And I sympathized
“The nice guys won’t leave me alone.”
Yep. The “nice” guys now see that I can see under their skin and skedaddle.
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Very Nice 🙂
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