u/October_Surprise56

Overheard a woman repeating this to herself on the train.

I (20s F) was at a restaurant this evening. A high school girl was there celebrating her graduation, wearing a backless/sleeveless dress.

She had a bit of an acne breakout on her back. Nothing anyone would have noticed or cared about under normal circumstances.

A young man (early 20s M) was also dining there with his family. He had some sort of intellectual disability, apparent from the time they arrived.

At some point he pointed at the girl and loudly said something to the effect of, “You have pimples all over your back. That’s gross. People don’t want to see that while they’re eating. Go home!”

The girl was visibly upset. She and her party didn’t say anything, but she excused herself to the restroom and came back wearing a heavy sweatshirt, in an outdoor dining area, in 80-degree heat.

Not long after she returned, the young man continued making loud negative comments about her appearance, how his appetite was ruined by seeing her acne, how it reflects poor hygiene, and how inconsiderate it was of her to have it visible in a restaurant.

His parents (at least I assume that’s who they were) apologized to the girl’s family but didn’t actually do anything to stop him. His mother even said to the girl, “Believe it or not, it actually means he likes you.”

The people in the girl’s party were understanding and told the other family not to worry about it but there was an unmistakable shift in the mood of the entire room and it was upsetting for me to be a witness to.

One table got up abruptly and then returned. I suspect they complained about it to the staff, but if so it fell by the wayside on a busy night, because nothing came of it.

After a few more loud, negative comments from the young man, I went to his table said something along the lines of, “This is making me really uncomfortable and you really need to do something. It is disruptive at this point.”

The family apologized to me but didn’t actually take any action.

Not too long later, the restaurant moved the family to another area, but not before the parents made it clear they felt they shouldn’t have to move since their son wasn’t being deliberately malicious and didn’t intend any harm.

The friends I was with at dinner were upset that I said anything. They felt it wasn’t my place to get involved and that I only embarrassed our party and made things worse for the girl.

I was confident in my decision at the time, but I respect my friends’ opinions very highly, so I’m starting to second-guess myself. AITAH?

This was my first time going and during Post Malone’s set a fire broke out and he had to stop his performance to get anyone to come extinguish it.

Fights kept erupting in the crowd and despite people calling for security, nobody ever came to break it up (someone was knocked unconscious in my section during Cody Jinks and carried out by good samaritans.)

Both nights no one could find their way out of the parking lot due to poor signage and/or no signage and changing traffic patterns. Wasn’t worth trying to get an uber. That was fairytale territory.

I’ve been to comparable shows and never experienced anything this… unmanaged, for lack of better terms.

Curious if this is the norm at Boots in the Park or a fluke this year? Because the events were otherwise great and if not for the lack of organization compared to similar festivals in audience/price range, I’d go again!

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* Hey, Deb said you called for a referral to our lawyer. What’s going on?

*Club Salad:* Oh God. Don’t get me started. Remember, when my dad passed, my mom decided to rent the guest room.

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* Oh God, I can see where this is going.

*Club Salad:* She got set up with a nice middle aged woman. A nursing assistant. Gainfully employed. Paid her rent on time. Checks all the boxes. But my mom’s mobility declined and she decided to sell the house and go into assisted living. She told the tenant, “Hey, at the end of the year, I’m not going to renew your lease, I’m going to sell.” She gave her six months of notice to move out.

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* And she doesn’t, right?

*Club Salad:* Of course not. Strung her along. Promise after promise. My mom let her stay after the rent period ended because she’s too nice, and the lady said she was just looking for an affordable place. Finally I come in and tell her she needs to get going because staying in the house is not safe for my mom anymore and we have to sell so she can go to an assistance facility. The woman claims, basically, squatters rights. She’s still in there as we speak. Court could be a year. Beth and I thought about Air B&B’ing the lake house while we’re away. Not anymore. Never.

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* I can top that, believe it or not. Inherited my aunt’s house when she passed. Didn’t have any use for it. Decided to rent it out. Hired a management company to oversee it since it was halfway across the country. Collected rent, got condition reports from the rental company, didn’t think about it for like 12 years. I get a call from the company one day “Hey your tenants want to bring a film crew in. They’re being featured on a reality show. It’s a one time deal. If you’re okay with it, we’ll handle all the paperwork.” Fast forward a few months later, the house is on Hoarders.

*Club Salad:* Hoarders?

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* Hoarders.

*Club Salad:* No offense but how does that, like, happen?

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* I lived far away. I worked all the time. It was supposed to be easy, passive income. I paid the management company an arm and a leg. The management company was fraudulent, basically. They didn’t really go in regularly and by the time they realized what had happened, instead of calling me, they tried to fix it themselves and hide it from me. I should’ve gone over from time to time. I’m an idiot.

Club Salad: No, I mean, if that can happen to you it can happen to anybody.

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* Guess how it all wound up?
Club Salad: How?

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* She still lives in there. And she’s still hoarding.

*Club Salad:* You’re kidding.

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* I wish I was. She’s got some kind of disability status unrelated to the hoarding that makes it next to impossible to evict her. Very tenant-friendly state. If the property were here, she’d be out by now.

*Club Salad:* So what, where do you even go from there?

*Spaghetti Pomodoro:* I keep calling code enforcement and filing complaints and, as you know, I’ve got a lawyer on it. But… I don’t like letting people stay the night on my couch anymore. No renting ever again.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

-Drivers use caution; Road work planned for 05/15; seek alternate routes

-Clearance; Our best ever deals

-Lemonade $3.50; Support The Bulldogs Junior Football and Cheer

-WARNING: Aggressive geese

-Do not feed the geese

-WARNING: Do not approach geese

-Please donate gently used clothing in the bin

-App Delivery Drivers Please Report to the Pickup Window for your Order. We Will Call Out The Names as They Become ready. Please Refrain From Sitting at Tables Marked for Dine In Customer

-Under new management: Tap pay now accepted

-Out of Office; Kindly return at 2:15.

-Laundry is a chore, Laundry is a bore, so take your clothes to the Laundry Store. Fluff ‘n’ Fold starting at $1.99 a lb

-Please deliver all packages to side door

I pulled a profile that was 75% “I don’t want X cards”, 24% “I do want Y cards [insert ultra-specific niche here]” and 1% a line at the end qualifying that despite the profile, all cards will be appreciated.

I didn’t have anything remotely close to what the recipient was seeking so I chose an inoffensive floral watercolor card and wrote a “fills the whole card” message trying to draw points of connection or interest between us.

The reply I got read: “With how expensive postage is, I am always shocked when someone doesn’t have interest to even read a short profile. Best regards”

Should I do nothing or write back? Could it be a language misinterpretation on my part? Whatever happened to just saying “happy prostcrossing” and calling it?