Still got it

I walked into the supermarket and the tall, fleshy, and perhaps learning-disabled young clerk who has said odd and/or friendly things to me once or twice before was standing there. I was listening to a punk cover of "Seasons in the sun" on the iPod, wearing my sunglasses and vest. He said something about the weather. Or I thought he did. "...cool today," he said. But it was sunny and perfect outside. OK, maybe a slight Spring crisp, so to be amiable, I said "Yeah," as I grabbed my basket. "Yeah. And you look really nice too," the young man said.

"Thanks," I said, with that friendly yet dismissive surprise that so many young women displayed when I was single and made my play for them.

He digs me, I thought, as I went back towards the eggs. He must have started with "You look ... cool today." I got sausages too.

As I imagined blogging about this incident, I had that grinning and laughing thing going on from the ALS.

There was only one register open, and Romeo was bagging for it. My grins were still flaring. I didn't want to give Romeo the impression that I was pleased and flattered, so I slid the sunglasses back down and concentrated on a faked tabloid image of Whitney Houston in wretched shape. She is so pretty, and she has such a great voice, but I only have two of her songs on my iPod. I guess she never sung anything that really touched my bones the way a song like "Almost cut my hair" does. But I love to watch her perform. I just wish she'd sung something that makes me cry.

Anyway, so I pay $17.07 for three dozen eggs and some breakfast sausages, and Romeo ain't bagging any too quick. He stalls. The checkout clerk chides him, and he does a pretend shoot-out riff on the clerk. "Don't do that to me, do that to the stuff," says the clerk, affectionately.

"Thanks," I say, take my bags and leave, avoiding personal contact.

That display was probably supposed to show me that he's fun, loose, and interesting. Again, I can't help thinking that so many of the women I tried to impress must have likewise rolled their eyes at my antics.

Left grip is 42 pounds (37, 42, 35), right grip is 92 pounds (87, 92, 85), left leg balance is 12.26 seconds, and inhale volume is 4500 mL.