A Question of the Group
So I went to Barnes and Noble to buy a new copy of the Girl With Curious Hair 1 by the late David Foster Wallace. 2 While paying, the two cashiers were having a conversation. The one cashier was feeling a cold come on and asking the other what she should do. "Look, if you're sick, you're sick. Stay home." said the older black cashier who, most shockingly, was wearing long fake eyelashes. "Besides you don't want her to get you sick," I chimed in. The eyelashed woman looked at me in such shock you would have thought my book had started talking to her. She took a moment and recovered. "Oh I just got over an illness," she retorted The younger cashier smiled at me flashing her braces. "My students always want to sit near me when they are sick. I tell them to go back to the end of the room." She giggled. "Feel better and get some rest," I told her as I left.

This incident has prompted me to ask the question:why is it cashiers and other sales people carry on conversations in front of customers like they aren't there? Why are they so shocked when I engage them? Anyone? 3

1.I "lost" the first copy when the Idiot Formerly Known as my Fiance took it. He also took my copy of the Fermata.
2. David Foster Wallace, famed for his novels, essays, short stories and footnotes, died on Friday night. If you are unfamiliar with David Foster Wallace, you should check out the metafilter thread on his death, which is filled with experiences, links, descriptions, and, of course, grief.
3. I shall now read my favorite David Foster Wallace story "Little Expressionless Animals."

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