Thursday, December 25, 2008

Skepticism on the Subway

It was like any other day. But, for me, any other day is not like any of your days.

I had just said goodbye for the last time to a friend heading back to England when I boarded the subway. I waited patiently for the train to finally come, and once it did, I boarded it and took a seat. Sounds fine enough, right?

Well, as I sat down at my seat, this young man and woman, two complete strangers, started smiling at me. The girl politely said, "Hello" and I returned with an equally polite, "hello". Nothing too strange about this occurrence yet.

Well, as soon as I got off the train, the two strangers came up to me and said, "Hello, Michael."

How did they know my name?

My first reaction was to take a closer look and see if I knew who these people were. Perhaps past students that I had just misplaced momentarily. But no, they were bonafide strangers that had taken an interest in me and clearly had some back story gossip. Naturally they aroused my suspicions, so I inquired, "I'm sorry, do I know you two?"

"No. Hi, I am Wilson and this is Jenny." (That's good, I didn't forget their names.)
"
Jenny is a fortune teller. We think you're very handsome." (Ok, not so good anymore.)

Well, what was I to believe- that these two mind readers are able to walk onto a subway, approach a complete stranger and telepathically deduce his name? At this point, two stalkers would probably be more plausible, and in reality, less creepy.

We talked for a bit, about how Jenny does palm readings to support her law education at Taiwan National University while Wilson works in films. Not sure what kind of films- just know he in the industry somehow.

Well, it finally came to the point where we were separating ways an I couldn't handle not knowing the source of her psychic powers. I asked them, "Ok, before you leave, how did you know my name? And do you have any information on tomorrow's lottery numbers?"

They told me that they over heard my friend saying "Goodbye Michael" in the Subway at the start of this story. So I guess, as it turns out, my stalker hypothesis was correct after all. I am sure they are somehow in cahoots with the crazy lady that made me dinner that one time.

From your American living in a future time zone, and not the actual future, Michael.

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