Smile and nod, boys...just smile and nod

Have you ever been talking with someone and thinking, "This person is nice. We could be friends" and then they say something that makes you cock your head to one side and go, "Say wha???" At this point you think, I cannot believe they just said that! This person is a weirdo! Just smile and nod and start to back away slowly...

I'm a pretty open-minded person but I am still sometimes shocked by what people will share with strangers (I won't even get into some of the convos I'd had with patients in the ER!) For example, I recently received a friend request on FB. I didn't recognize the woman's name (who shall remain nameless here) so I clicked on her profile to see if something jogged my memory. Her photo didn't look familiar - she was about my age, short hair, big smile...looked normal (cue ominous music.) Turns out she went to my high school but graduated a year after me. Nothing rang a bell but I saw we had several friends in common (again, all from high school.) I was considering accepting her request until I read the blurb under her photo. It said:

"I have been given a full life w/ a supportive husband, loving children, and wonderfully close friends. I have the opportunity to conduct research that will hopefully make a difference someday. I sell sex toys! What more could I ask for?"

Say wha??? Okaaaay. Smile and nod...and slowly back away. Same thing happened to a friend of mine recently. She was on a first date when he started talking about an ex-girlfriend of his who was very...sexual. (First off, this is a no-no topic on a date. But it's pretty bad when this isn't even the "smile and nod" part!) Then he said, "I'm serious. She was always all over me. In fact, she said her husband wanted her to get her sexual aggressions out on other men. He didn't even mind if we did it while he was in the house!"

Say wha???? That's when she smiled, nodded, slammed her drink...and backed away.

I know, I know. It's tough being the normal one, right? All these people I look at and think, "What is going on in their head that they would say that???" Oh well. I've gotten used to it. In fact, I've gotten so good at it that I don't even think people realize I'm planning a quick escape in my head as they're talking about the boil on their butt. *sigh*

Wait. Why are you smiling? Stop nodding! COME BACK!!!!!!!!