Strange Things

I feel the need to record this event, since it's one of the strangest/coolest things that's ever happened to me.

Around an hour ago, I stopped at a gas station to grab a quick snack before I returned to work after my weekly tutoring session with a 3rd grader at a nearby elementary school. I got in my car, and as I was about to pull out, a man drove up beside me in an SUV, rolled down his window and motioned for me to do the same. Once my window was down, the man leaned over and asked... if i spoke Italian.

The man was Italian, and told me in broken English that his English was poor. I told him I didn't speak Italian, but began to speak to him in Spanish. He asked me if I spoke the language because of school, and I confirmed his suspicions. We began talking, me in Spanish, he in Italian, and had no problems understanding one another.

I asked him whether he needed directions, or help in some way, and he waved off my attempts to aid him. He told me he worked for a company downtown, and had just received a bonus which included four Italian coats from makers such as Gianni Versace. He had no use for them, so he was willing to sell them to me for half the going price. While we were talking, two large women paused at the front of his car, staring in amazement at the conversation going on. One of them asked loudly, "DOES HE NEED DIRECTIONS??" and I waved her off, telling her it wasn't the case. I politely declined to purchase the coats, and after much thanks, we went our separate ways. He still had his coats, but I had a story to tell.