The Overeducated Undereducated Brit And Healing
Long, convoluted story so don't even try to reconstruct the missing pieces. There are points to be made. Let's set the stage: I'm walking down a busy street littered with pedestrians in the clutches of a tall, older man whose gait is twice as long as mine. I have to double-step to keep up with his pace. He has my limp arm in his grasp and is sort of dragging me down the street. Onlookers are concerned since I appeared as if I was possibly being abducted. My body language said I was not a willing participant. His body language was demanding. He walked proudly, chin held high, with me in tow behind. I noticed a young couple across the street who wouldn't take their eyes off of me, as if asking if I needed help. I appreciate them so freakin much, btw!
I didn't feel threatened by this man. He was harmless, just strange. I looked at the couple and smiled to let them know I was okay. Then I started to laugh like a crazy person, trying so hard to hold back my giggles. This was insane! This man seemed totally unaware of the appearance of this scenario. I could hardly believe it! He was highly educated and held Ph.D.s in both law and psychology! He was wealthy and lived in a humble abode with dozens of bedrooms. He had excellent social skills and was cordial, sympathetic, and appropriately behaved (in most circumstances). Yet, somehow, he was still dragging me down the street, publicly displaying his pride in having caught such an exquisite object. I dunno, that's what he acted like, lol.
The absurdity of the scenario was laughable and I could barely hold back. He didn't catch on to my lack of reciprocation. He didn't catch my snickers. His energy never changed. He was simply doing what seemed like the natural and right thing to do for him. No indication that he understood my body language. No indication that his apathy might be construed as utterly wrong. Yet a Ph.D. in psychology? C'mon! I couldn't comprehend his behavior until I was recording a video earlier and talked it through until that key moment when I realized he must have experienced some childhood trauma that led him to behave this way.