On the way out of the parking garage at the library this afternoon, the parking attendant caught me off guard. Rather than allowing Brandy and I to slip through with the customary, "Hi." "Hi. How are you today?" "Fine. And you?" "Good. Have a nice day," he interuppted the natural flow of things and instead asked "Well, since you asked, I mean, you asked me how I am, do you really want to know? Because if you do, I'll tell you."

Awkward pause as he breaks the proscenium wall while waiting for our response. "Well, yes, of course. How has your day been?"