I am not crazy – I am hungry

By Staff
Scot Beard
During the course of my marriage, my wife, Erin, and I have had our fair share of interesting conversations.
One of the strangest was last week.
It started Thursday when I was calling to see how her day was going. She said it was going well and asked about my day. I told her it was pretty good and that I bought lunch instead of bringing it.
If I knew then what I know now, I never would have told her.
Erin asked if anybody from work had gone with me and I told her no, which was the truth.
"Don't do that, it is weird," she said.
"What is weird? Eating lunch," I replied.
She proceeded to tell me she thought it was strange when people dine alone.
I thought this was strange because I have often dined alone and not thought twice about it.
Erin promptly told me that I was weird and I do not need to be eating by myself or people might think there was something wrong with me because I could not even get a friend to go to lunch with me.
I reminded her that my schedule fluctuates daily and I do not always get hungry at the same time my coworkers do, so I eat when I eat.
She still said it was odd.
In her opinion, only psychotics and people up to no good dine solo.
I laughed it off, but she was determined to stop me from dining alone.
"I'm serious, people are going to think you are weird," she said.
"I don't care," I replied.
And I don't care as long as it does not hinder my ability to do my job, which it hasn't so far.
I have yet to have someone turn down an interview simply because they saw me in the local caf/ enjoying a sandwich while I read a magazine.
Erin was insistent, so I told her she was more than welcome to drive down from her job in Muscle Shoals to join me for lunch.
The only problem would be she would have to visit and finish her meal in five minutes so she could get back to work on time.
She was not amused, and she did not back down.
I still did not think eating alone was a sign of mental instability, and I told her I was going to write a column about our conversation.
She gets nervous when I threaten to write columns, so she dropped the subject.
But, in an effort to please my wife, I will try not to dine alone anymore – not that there is anything wrong with it.
But, if you do see me eating by myself understand one thing.
I am not psychotic, nor am I a weird pervert.
I am hungry and my friends and coworkers were too busy to join me.