Convincing Them, One Person at a Time

I sometimes feel if I can convince one other human being that I'm a little nuts, each and every day, then I've done my job. Yesterday was easy. We were laughing it up with Isabella, a 6-month-old baby in the family. I brought out a tried and true bit with 6-month-olds: Pretend to offer them adult food and see what happens. The expressions are priceless as they try and contemplate what they're supposed to do with a roast beef sandwich. They will grab for it so, of course, you pull the food away, teaching them how to handle missed opportunities early on. Then they give you this look like, "I know you're kidding around, and I'm not sure I appreciate it." They actually are pretty smart at that age, although they slobber on everything and have zero manners.
But that was yesterday. Convincing adults that you're a little off, is tougher, unless of course they have a chance to get to know you. So how did I manage to convince a total stranger in less than 5 seconds this morning? Okay, my local Fred's sometimes has these "Just get it out of here" sales, which is how I ended up owning a 3-ft tall stuffed moose, but that's another story. This morning they had a few boxes of already marked down sneakers at 60% off, meaning you could get a pair of Reeboks for like 19 bucks. I found a pair that fit and did the old, "If they're still here when I come back from coffee, I'll buy them." So I return from coffee and there's this guy there checking out the sale. I walk up and act like I just noticed it for the first time, and then I immediately grab a box and head to the cashiers. The guy had that look like, "Should I be doing that, too?" It was similar to the beginning of one of those shopping frenzies. He also gave me the look of, "My, that guy's a little nuts, isn't he?" So it was 8a.m. and I'd already done my work for the day.