The Stranger I Met Today

On February 28, Pope Benedict XVI officially stepped down from his role as the head of the Catholic Church.  That same day, I stood next to a middle-aged, lanky man outside of an elevator.  I smiled politely and waited there next to him.  Initially there was no interaction.  I looked over to my left at one point and his shirt caught my eye.  A large picture of Pope Benedict XVI was centered on his chest. Underneath of the picture, the caption read “Popin’ Ain’t Easy.”  My own laugh caught me by surprise.  The man, unfazed by my guffaw, knew that his shirt instigated my outburst and still said nothing. 

“That’s quite a shirt.  Big Daddy Kane taught the world that pimpin’ ain’t easy, but I doubt as many people know about the challenges of popin’,” I said.  The man nodded his head without much enthusiasm and looked up at the ceiling.  Generally, I believe that people that wear t-shirts with punchlines, men that grow oversized handlebar moustaches, and women that commit to neon-colored hair tend to be more approachable than the Average Joe and welcome chats with strangers.  This man started to chip away at this belief. 

“Is that something that you’ve had for awhile and it’s a coincidence that you’re wearing it now?” I asked. Sometimes, when you talk to someone, you get the feeling that they are praying for you to be afflicted with sudden onset laryngitis.

“Where does one pick up that sort of shirt?  Local store? Online? Church?”  I had to know. 

“Had it made.”  He glanced at me and then down at his own torso. 

“No way,” I replied in genuine disbelief.  “The Pope thing just happened.  Where does one have a Pope joke t-shirt made?” 

“Had it made last week at the local t-shirt place around the corner, so I could wear it this week.  I like it because, you know, it ain’t easy,” he said dryly. 

Lesson Learned

Everybody knows that pimpin’ ain’t easy.  There’s a very quiet man in the Mid-Atlantic region who felt strongly enough about the fact that popin’ ain’t easy to have a t-shirt made.  He is spreading the word, but really doesn’t want to talk about it.