Stayed a bit late at work today to tie up some loose ends/prepare for tomorrow so it wouldn’t be so hectic. Everyone had already left the office on their way to happy hour. Finally, around 6:30 or so, I packed up and headed to the gym.
As I approached the street corner, I noticed a couple of people on those scooter things that old people ride around on – a “Rascal” or whatever – those motorized things you can get in the grocery store, or at wal-mart. I thought it was strange bc the people on the rascals didn’t seem especially old. At any rate, it was only a quick glance, and then I continued to wait on the street corner.
The light of the opposite intersection turned green, and the troop of Rascal riders came towards me. One of the Rascals pulled right beside me and stopped. Again, i thought, “weird why is he stopping in the street?” I contemplated this for a while and then the guy on the Rascal said, “Hi, how are you doing?” As always, a guy talking to me, especially on a Rascal at an intersection, in San Francisco, with a slightly southern accent of all things, confused the hell out of me. I managed to look down and mutter a “I’m doing good,” back.
At this time, the rest of his rascal riding buddies caught up with him and we all proceeded to cross the street. One of the rascals started moving and, at that moment, a van ran a red light, nearly hitting us. We all pulled back, and were like, “oh my god we almost got hit!” After pausing for a moment, we cautiously made our way across the street.
Almost at the other side, the guy who had talked to me initially, looked back at me and gave me this sarcastic/impish grin, and it was then that I realized who the fuck it was. Fucking Dave Chappelle.
All of a sudden, everything clicked. My coworkers had said they had spotted him throughout the week, here and there – at jamba juice…at starbucks…just walking around the neighborhood, etc. No wonder that voice had sounded so damn familiar.
Dammit, why can’t I ever think of anything cool to say to anyone in any situation? It’s like the mere act of a strange man talking to me is the most confusing and debilitating thing in the world. Dave Chappelle or not.
I guess this is a step up from my usual bus conversations with homeless guys and typical SF riff raff. I’ll take what I can get.
