I ran into a co-worker of mine last night.
I was out socializing it up after midnight at Club Paradise, having a great time with my friends. And after the week I'd had, this queen needed to blow off some steam.
I've never seen this person outside of work and in a position to just say hello to him. I figured that since he was standing a few feet away from me, speaking to a couple of my friends, I would take the opportunity to say "hey".
Big mistake on my part. As he was stepping away from my friends, I simply said, "Hey, how's it going?" His response was not even rude, it was pathetic - in my opinion. He replied in a low voice, "Hi", as he wouldn't even look me in the eye while he slithered past me.
Now I know he's not closeted, so the interaction threw me for a loop.
But the funny thing about the encounter wasn't my co-worker's actions; it was my friend's discussion about it afterward. It went something like this:
Me: Maybe he acted like that because he's shy?
My friend: That's not it ...
Me: Well it could be because he didn't know what to say.
My friend: You're really stretching there, don't you think?
Me: Well I'm a nice, friendly person ... why do you think?
My friend: Because he's just a stupid twink, who's too old to be a twink anymore, and he's got a pole stuck up his ****!
Well, you get the point I'm sure. My friend had jokingly said to me that I'm so sweet sometimes, that I'm just a Pollyanna.
It was hilarious, I hadn't been called that in a long time. And you will probably be surprised to hear me say this, but I'm proud that I can still look at the world and situations through rose-colored glasses, that I'm at-times a naive optimist. It means that deep inside, at the core of my inner-being, I still have that innocence about myself! It's a good thing, right?
Despite my co-worker's chilly reaction to my greeting, I'm still going to be a Pollyanna in a lot of situations. Actually, he's not worth my time anyway. Gays who act like they are better than others just make me want to slap them. They have this false sense of entitlement. What's that about?
But I'm glad that I am so far removed from being like that. At least I hope people see me as more inviting than this co-worker of mine.
Actually, this situation happened to me before, with a much better outcome. One of my closest, dearest friends to his day, I'd met him about five years ago. And we were co-workers, which is how we knew each other in the first place. At work, I'm such an A-type personality and always in professional mode, and we rarely spoke in the office.
Then we ran into each other at Georgie's (the gay Cheers), neither of us knowing the other was gay. He approached me, greeted me with hello, introduced me to his partner, briefly exchanged a little bit of shock that neither of us knew the other was gay, and puff - we've been tight-knit ever since! And I'm glad that I didn't act the way my current co-worker acted when he ran into me.
I don't know what gets into some people sometimes. If someone says hello with a smile, don't act like if you dare say hello with a smile back, that you are inviting the other person to try to pick you up. Sometimes, just sometimes, that person is just being friendly and trying to ... wait for it ... make a new friend!
But then again, does anything still surprise me as I'm still living, breathing - and loving - the gay scene in Asbury Park?!?
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