My daughter showed me a website about so-called American Vagabonds.
I squinted at the pictures and replied Eh, I only know…. a couple of em.
She was shocked – whyever did I know such people?
I was shocked – has she forgotten her childhood?
It is true that I took her away from her homeland at age thirteen, so it must be hard to retain more than vague impressions of what it was like to be a kid. Certainly, neither child was aware that we were poor, because while we lived far below the poverty level, our life was rich with music and art and literature and friendship.
I refrained from pointing that out, or even delivering a lecture about the tautology of placing punks – who have access to a vast array of resources, including but not limited to community houses, infoshops, radio shows, zines, bartered medical care – in the same category as people who are homeless without choice.
See, sometimes I can curtail my caustic opinions!
The girl persisted with questions about riding the rails and was thrilled to realize that I know more than might be presumed about the topic. I ruthlessly squashed any hopes in that direction by pointing that an acquaintance had both legs chopped off pursuing such adventures. Not exactly romantic.
Of course her attention span does not sustain lengthy discussions (she says her brain feels like a LocoRoco game) so the next question was What is the creepiest example of someone flirting with you?
I replied Nobody flirts with me.
She stamped her foot and hollered SHUT UP! People flirt with you all day long!
I blinked in bewilderment. Not true! Give me an example!
She said I never hang out with you, so I don’t know! But you are just stupid to claim otherwise!
Shrug. So I’m still oblivious, even after advanced research and training. I really don’t notice much until people declare they are in love with me, a claim that can generally be analyzed as a passing fancy since they get over it within a year or two. Any other subtleties are beyond my comprehension.
This is certainly easier than getting tangled up with the misplaced desires of other people. Particularly in this town.