What do Crocodiles and Vegetarians Have in Common?

Today I got a compliment from an old guy in a park who was holding two plastic crocodiles! I think he was trying to sell them. He told me he liked my hair and not to cut it! The interaction lasted for only a minute, but it made me smile all day.

I don't know what I would do without the oddballs and the misfits in life. I'm reading a book of Haruki Murakami's short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. In one of the stories the main character makes the following observation: "I much prefer imperfect, more memorable types of people". I agree, wholeheartedly! Over the course of my life, I've met some incredible people who live outside the box. I have learned that first impressions are just that.

The neighbourhood I grew up in was pretty conventional and conservative. I remember when a vegetarian family moved into the street. The gossip was alarming. The poor parents were condemned for depriving their children of red meat! Only one diet was considered suitable: meat, potatoes and vegetables. Even pasta was cause for suspicion!

Fortunately, this particular family had a strategy for dealing with criticism! They invited everyone in the neighbourhood to a housewarming. Curiosity killed the cat ... and, apparently, higher moral ground! Not a single neighbour refused the invitation! And the menu? ... entirely vegetarian. This was also the era of being polite, so to refuse food was not an option. By the end of the housewarming, the entire street had to eat their words!!