[diminished]

Bit of a strange encounter today.

After converting a full bottle of Wild Turkey into an empty one, we were both a bit hungover this morning.There was terrible confusion over what we should do next, the previous evening had wiped away any memory of plans made.

We eventually came up with the idea of heading to San Jose, with the aim of waiting long enough to check into a motel, and cooling our heels for the rest of the day.

We did have a target to visit there, there is a giant Monopoly board in a park beside a children's museum.So it was elected time to cross that one from our lists.Had I purchased a Top Hat, Small Dog or a Racing Car, I would have brought them along.

We searched around the park,and eventually found what we were looking for.

I'd just pulled out my camera and was lining up a shot when a shout came from behind us.I didn't pay it much attention as it didn't seem to be particularly aimed at us, but after it was repeated 2-3 times, I turned around to see an olive skinned gentleman gesticulating at us.

I couldnt quite make out what he was all in a flap about, and being a little deaf, walked towards him to see what all the fuss was about.

It seems we were 'pale-skinned m*therf*ckers' and we should 'get the f*ck away' from him, as he didn't appreciate the presence of 'dumbass pale-skins'.

A puzzling attitude, I thought.Surely the best way to ensure his solitude would be to not shout loudly at passing strangers.

I decided to amp up the weird.Feigning deafness, I wandered over to him, a hand cupped beside one ear.

He extended his hand to me, and as I reciprocated, he withdrew his hand, starting to explain how he 'dont like no paleskin m*therf*ckers', when he halted mid-sentence.
'Your face.... you've got like, psoriasis all over your face'
'Oh that, dont worry about that,' I said.

My crumbling-skinned sunburnt face beamed broadly at him, and he confusedly shook my hand, which was still offered.He seemed rather at a loss as to what to say next, so I turned and walked away.We took our shot of the Monopoly board, and skedaddled with him still remonstrating about our whiteness.And how we'd ruined his lunch with it.

Persistence was quite upset, but I was still sufficiently hungover to consider the pain behind my eyes to be more of a problem.

We considered our racial handicap whilst I smoked a couple of cigarettes at the other end of the park.It had been a pretty odd encounter.

We elected to deny San Jose our tourist dollars, instead making use of the interstate back to Gilroy, where shopping for the perfect handbag happened to happen.And we had fun calling each other 'paleskin m*therf*cker' the rest of the day.