Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The man who broke logic. part one(?)

He wore spectacles that were small in diameter but as thick as a military bunker wall. Telescopes strapped to his face. You'd have to think he was able to see everything. You see people walking around the streets squinting at things every day. Street signs, addresses, maps, you name it, people squint at it as if they can't see it clearly without squinting. This man never had to squint. It was like someone stuck a needle into his tear duct and started pumping. His eyes were gigantic. Wide, and open all of the time. He had a pointy nose that supported his scopes and large, sturdy ears that held up his glasses frame. His worm-like neck was always sunken just a bit down like he was embarrassed. Sort of like a scared turtle. A very intelligent, very awkward, socially-inept turtle. Guaranteed if they sold shells, this man would purchase one. And then several extras to stockpile at home so he'd be ready in case something happened to his current shell. He'd place them next to his stacks of freeze dried food - the "just add water" kind. He'd place them next to his multiple packages of paper towels and napkins. He'd store some in his laundry room next to his slew of cleaning supplies just in case he ever ran out of Windex or Drain-O. He's that kind of a guy.

He never even came close to running out of . . . anything.

A pack-rat, sure. But more than that he was a planner. He was a thinker. He would map out the most efficient route to take to work every morning before he left. Always turned his mattress over. Flossed, dusted, and tidied up every corner of every space in his perfect little apartment. Hospitals were not this clean. He's the kind of guy you'd look at and try to picture his name. Some people you look at and think, "Jeff? Thomas? Rob? Bill? Gary? Steve?" And other people you look at generate totally different sets of names like, "Milton? Marvin? Milhouse? Murray?" For some reason names that begin with the letter M have increased nerd potential. Let's throw in "Stuart?" and "Walter?" for good measure. Either way, if you saw him, you'd immediately look toward the second set of names.

He ate bran flakes.

Living like this doesn't usually attract a lot of friends. So understandably, he grew lonely from time to time. Rather than go and spend an evening at a bar, park or social restaurant, he would stay home and look through different chat rooms on his computer to try and find someone to talk to. Someone who shared his interests. Someone who understood him. Someone who knew what to think when they saw eighteen gallons of Windex stockpiled in the laundry room. Insane? No. Prepared.

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