Things that make me go "hmm"

I love Charleston. I really do. It's like genteel, crazy Savannah meets a Southern Baptist convention with a penchant for secret drinking. And there are bugs and C of C students on bikes and rollerboards and drugs. Oh, and there are tourists. It's a charming, funny, aggravating city that you can't get away from once you've lived in it. And, damn, is it expensive!

But the other day reminded me of just what I find so oddly entertaining about this city. I was walking to my car, praying the rain would hold off and spare my hair its last remaining frizz. Any rain, and I knew it would actually stand up high enough to connect with the atmosphere. (There's a reason southern women love big hair - they're just embracing reality.) So - walking to my car. As I was on the sidewalk by the dog park, I ended up walking behing a woman who obviously also works at MUSC - scrubs, danksos, big bag of crap you have to carry in and out like you're camping at work. As we wound around the block, and crossed the street, this woman began looking behind her (at me) more and more frequently, and then began walking faster. Surely she didn't think I was following her? Oh, but she did. When we crossed the street, she crossed BACK over and weaved between cars to avoid walking on the same sidewalk as me, where I could CATCH her and mug her and steal her insulated lunch bag and extra pair of shoes. Eventually, fate took over, though, because she had to cross back over yet again, right next to me, to be on the right side of the street to get into her car - which she unlocked while giving me a combination dirty look/anxious, furtive glance over the shoulder.

Let me clarify that, while my hair was not at its A-1 best, I was wearing a skirt and a freaking twinset. Granted, my walking shoes are a little scruffy, but I was CARRYING A PAIR OF HEELS. Perhaps that's why I seemed so threatening.

And today, I saw a fake & bake girl in a bikini, riding a bike through Marion Square. I'm surprised this town even has movie theaters or cable television.