On my way to work one day, from not so far away, I watched a chubby college kid with a black sweatband across his head knock knuckles, in passing, with an equally awkward, lanky, dorky, college kid who sported a shaggy, flowing, blond hair.

I imagined them saying to each other as they touched fists because it was cooler to do so than exchange Vulcan salutes: Live long and prosper… Ugh huh huh… Ugh huh huh— followed by snorts here and there.

They crossed paths and the lanky one continued to walk toward me. The lanky one and I approached each other on the 3-foot wide walkway, walking toward opposite directions and into our separate lives. We were 15 feet away from each other, then nine… then eight… five… three… then two. That’s when the pathway tango took place.

He moved left, I moved right. He moved right, I moved left. Face to face, we both stop, but instead of intense passion associated with tango, I start to feel hot brewing irritation.

After the pause, another dance followed. Then he says, in the most nasal and whiny Star Trek conventional kinda way: You’re invading my space!

The dance finally ended and we moved on with our lives. I walked away annoyed. Then I couldn’t help but to smile after I let what just happened sink in. Then I chuckled in my head. Then I totally LOLed, as in hysterically, with no one to hear me but the early morning finches and the crazy cat licking himself away in content. I stopped and I stared at it and remembered a conversation I had with some of my old college buddies about them wishing to be more cat-like. The cat stopped licking itself and stared back at me as if to say: Whaaaat?!!! I laughed so hard it hurt to breathe.

It seems sometimes life is a walking comedy or poetry— And that allowing ourselves to be amused by and connected to the simplest things in our surroundings without feeling ridiculous is simply enjoying one of the best free shows on the planet.

…