Some Dude Named Jack Creeped Me Out in a Coffee Shop Bathroom

Maria and I were in Roanoke recently for her college reunion. Maria's alma mater, Roanoke College, is located in lovely downtown Salem, VA. Despite unseasonably cold weather (it actually snowed one day), we got to see some of Maria's old academic buildings and tour the new construction on campus.

One afternoon, we had an hour to kill before the next event, so we walked to a little coffee shop in town called Mill Mountain.

Mill Mountain Coffee in Salem, VA

After ordering coffee and a snack, I went into the men's room, where I ended up having an extremely bizarre encounter with a man named Jack.

To set the scene: When you walk into the men's room, there are two sinks directly in front of you. To the left of the sinks is a stall; to the right is a urinal.

When I walked in, there was a man in the stall. This wasn't a problem because I only needed to use the urinal. The man in the stall finished and walked to the right sink. I was done just a few seconds later and walked to the left sink.

The sink design at Mill Mountain is poor. The left sink does not have either a soap dispenser or paper towels. Those are both located to the right of the right sink. So if two people are at the sink at the same time, the person on the right has to get soap, wash, and dry his hands before the person on the left can even start.

The man at the right sink was mid-to-late 50s and had a cane. He said to me, "Can you get me a paper towel?" I thought this was odd because he was standing next to the paper towels, but maybe he couldn't reach because of the cane. Still, he didn't seem to have any trouble moving his arms, and all he had to do was activate the motion sensor for a paper towel to come out.

I then reached over and waved my hand under the machine, and a paper towel came out. As I reached over, the man noticed my watch and said, "Oh, you wear a watch?"

Now this was really odd because I think most people wear a watch. I said, "Uh huh" and he said, "People must always ask you what time it is."

The Bulova C860832: A fine timepiece indeed

A few things about this: First of all, I think only once or twice in my entire life has someone actually asked me what time it is. Don't most people wear watches? Most people have cell phones, too! So I again said, "Uh huh," washed my hands in record time, and got out of the men's room.

When I got back to our table, I explained the situation to Maria. Wouldn't you know: The guy then sat down at the table next to us and was talking with a man his age. The friend referred to him several times as "Jack."

Maybe Jack was asking me something using coded language; if so, that's even creepier. No, Jack, most people do not ask me the time. Stop being a creeper in the Mill Mountain bathroom! 

In an unrelated note, the coffee and brownie were delicious. Blessings to Mill Mountain coffee, but no blessings to their creepy patron named Jack!

Photo Credits:
Mill Mountain: http://www.millmountaincoffee.com/downtown-salem.html
Bulova Watch: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/161776291661