Close Encounter

Close Encounter

Today, I was on my way to where my car is parked, and saw a casually dressed bloke (about 30, shorts, sleeveless T shirt and baseball cap, needed a shave) standing near it and having a loud, animated conversation with . . . no one. He was going on and on about sitting on a sofa. "If I want to sit by you on the sofa, what's the matter with that?" he kept saying, with variations, while gesturing wildly with his hands and staring into space. Feeling rather spooked, I decided to approach the car from the opposite side--until I noticed that he had something in his ear, with a thin cord winding down from it into his pocket. Maybe the whole world hasn't gone insane after all, I thought.