Civility

I'm back from vacation. I thought once of the cleverest lines of seduction I heard while traveling came from a street food stall vendor who asked me where one of my companions was from. I answered in the native language and got the following response, "there are lots of beautiful people there." I thought it was such a clever hidden compliment and that companion was beyond pleased.

I was also surprised at how little effort was put into trying to get me and my companions to do certain things. One brazen man, in a particular seedy part of the city, just walked up to us with his hand extended while he was crossing the street opposite us. What did he think the chances of us giving him money were?

I noticed that my empath travel companions responded almost equally well to vinegar as they did honey, but only at first. They quickly started feeling emotionally manipulated and then shut down almost completely against the natives, even going so far as to argue over small perceived slights in service and to count their change rudely in front of store owners, while I was handing my money over in both hands with a small bow of respect. Just for kicks, I guess. Or because I usually think that to be openly hostile is a tactic best reserved for a more narrow set of circumstances.

I'll write about the books I've been reading tomorrow.