Chapter 1 

Ok, she was the homeliest blind woman I had ever met but she had an interesting edge to her with her white cane and recent story. "I was on the corner of Telegraph and Durant and a guy comes up and says he is attracted to me and wants to take me out on a date. Sure, I said. How many dates had I had up to that time? We talked and found some common subjects and I left to go back to my apartment. I spent the whole day getting fixed up, even put on some war pain, of course it takes me a bit longer with the problem you know. So he picks me up in the early evening and we talk so sweetly, so pleasantly to the restaurant. I was so excited I could hardly stop myself from crying or yelling out. We entered the restaurant and the first thing I felt was a cool draft from left to right carrying along a mélange of smells that I couldn't identify. Hm, strange place I think to myself. And I hear the clattering of plates and numerous conversations all over the place. Too many for a decent restaurant. This is more like a cafeteria I think to myself. We sit and order a dinner. Drinks come, only ice tea and cola. Ok, I would have liked some wine. I was starting to get nervous and I wasn't sure why. I needed some wine to calm me down a bit. Suddenly I hear a bit of clamor and a rustling as if everyone was looking up or forward. I heard a few reverbs from a mic and then this prissy voice came on. "We welcome you all. Aren't you all excited! This is the moment you'll look back and say, my life began here." A cheer went up, some clapping. Now I am getting a bit confused. How many restaurants had guys at the mic. Well, maybe a few. Entertainer’s right? Now he continued. "Tonight you will meet your new life, your new identity so stoke up for the long haul." I asked my date what he was talking about. "Oh, we are going on a trip." "What kind of trip." "You'll see." The man at the mic then told us that we'd be leaving in half an hour and to make sure to carry our bags to the bus. "Bus? Why are we going to a bus?" Now I was worried. I felt a lot of anxiety. I demanded to know what was going on. The date heed and hawed and finally admitted that we were being recruited for the Unification Church and would be going up to the day camp for a week of intense schooling. By that time the place had settled down and everyone was eating, in a hurried manner I picked up, and so I stood up violently and threw my plate on the floor. "Get me the hell out of here you prick!" "Hey now settle down, we're almost to a new life." "Take me out of here before I start using my cane to destroy things." I could hear heads turning and everything grew stone silent. Finally I heard a few voices talking near our table and they agreed to take me back home. I just remember the humiliation I felt probing the floor with my cane between what I felt were prying eyes, maybe eyes of disgust. Well, that ended my dating life for awhile.

David Eide
January 24, 2014