Thursday, August 13, 2009

Stories from the south, ep. 2: The Man at the Wedding.

After Friday's fun in Fredericksburg, we were ready for the centerpiece of our southern swing: The wedding in Richmond, VA. Fear not! This post is actually somewhat running related!

See, Owen's cousin, Chris, is a runner. In fact, she and her (now) husband met after the Richmond HM a few years ago and they remain active in the Richmond running community today. Oh, and, yeah. One little thing: Chris' husband is an Ironman. So, yup. They're runners.

And as runners, who met after running, they went with a running theme for the wedding. The priest spoke about running in his sermon. And at the reception, the place cards had an image of running shoes on them, as did the table numbers. Everything looked great!

So, the background to today's story is that the bride and groom were runners. And now on with the second story from the south: The Man at the Wedding.

I was standing in line at the bar and heard the two men behind me talking about running. One was saying that he didn't know that the bride and groom were such serious runners. The other was joking about how he only runs when chased. He gestured to his large belly and said something about how you don't get a body like his by running. The first man laughed. Then the man with the large belly gave me a flick on the arm. To get my attention, I guessed.

So, I turned around and he said something like, "You're a runner, right?"

"Yes," I replied.

"See, that's what you get when you're a runner," he said, turning to the first guy. Then I KID YOU NOT he made an up-and-down movement with his hands, in my direction and said, "You get to look like this."

Um, I didn't even know what to do. Or say. Luckily, it was my turn at the bar so I ordered my drink and tried to get away as quickly as possible. The man was yammering on and I was really trying not to listen but as I walked away and thanked the bartender for my drink, the man with the large belly said, "And thank you for letting us watch."

Watch?!?! Watch?!?!? What the -- ?

Well, that was annoying/creepy in itself but oh, it got creepier.

The reception ended around 5:00 so the bride's father hosted a little after-party for family and friends at private room at a restaurant. Owen and I went to our hotel room, relieved our babysitter (niece), changed clothes, and walked over to the restaurant with Conal. We settled in at a table with one of Owen's sisters and other guests. We had some snacks. Great.

Then the man from the wedding, the Creepy Man, walked over and stood by our table. I guess he talked to us but I don't recall what he said. I do know that he did a very disturbing imitation of an orangutan that involved having people clear out of his way so he could take large steps and flail his arms around. Very disturbing.

So, anyway, after the orangutan imitation, he stood there, talking to people and I left the table soon after. I was pretty creeped by him. I mingled with family, eventually making my way back to the table to talk to my sister-in-law. It seemed safe. Creepy Man was talking to other people.

I sat down, put Conal on my lap and fed him some fruit. As I was doing so, Creepy Man walked over, pointed at me and said, "You're the one from the wedding. The cute one in the pink dress."

Now, folks, I can take a compliment. Really, I can. But this was not one. This was not a compliment at all. This was just creepy. The whole entire thing -- from the comments at the reception to the last one at the restaurant. Just creepy.

So what did I do? Well, I said, "Yes. I was wearing a pink dress. And, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my husband." Which is what I did and then Conal and I headed back to our hotel room shortly thereafter so I didn't have to see Creepy Man again.

The End of the Man at the Wedding.

My running is finally back on track! After two weeks of travel, I'm feeling good about my runs again. I ran a comfortable 5.25 miles on Tuesday and a strong tempo run yesterday. I'm hoping to keep this momentum for a while!

~ Felice

16 comments:

Marlene said...

Ugh. Creepola.

A compliment is one thing, but good call walking away from that guy. :/

Awesome that you've got your momentum back already! I think it would take me weeks to get back on track after an extended vacation. Keep it up!

B.o.B. said...

Yikes. It's bad b/c it was at a family member's wedding and you couldn't just tell him to eff off.

I love, love, love their running wedding story. I am so stalking so men down at HMs now. Look out!

Denise said...

Hate creepy men!!

Glad your running is back on track!

Liz said...

Geesh, who was this creepy guy and why the hell was he at this wedding??????? What a sleazeball. You handled it well, though! Bravo!
And keep up the momentum with the running. Hopefully temps cool off soon.....it's finally summer around here, but I am NOT happy about it!

Jon (was) in Michigan said...

There's one of those guys at every wedding. If he was at your wedding? Be thankful he isn't your brother-in-law.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

Oh welcome back!! Love this storey for all the honesty and of course the creep factor. Too funny..

FYI I dropped your name in my Happy Run post this week...I got a shirt that you NEED..

Hugs

Aileen said...

AMAZING! What a sketchmeister...gotta watch out for guys at weddings.

I Run for Fun said...

Creepy guy! What was his problem?

Glad you're back with all these stories! And it must be great getting back to your running schedule. That's what I miss the most when I'm away on vacation!

ShutUpandRun said...

Just gross. I think I've met that guy in Richmond before at a wedding (used to live there myself).

Chic Runner said...

OH MY GOSH! I can't get over that, it's hilarious and creepy all at the same time! :) glad you are back on track with your running

Quix said...

Awesome job on your great runs! And, a compliment in a twisted way but geez, that's creepy. Good on ya for getting away quick!

J said...

First of all - that is so cool that they had a running themed wedding! Second that is totally creepy about the guy! I deal with that at work sometimes - not as bad but I am the only woman in my group and the guys can be really weird sometimes!

Diana said...

Wow. You met some, um, interesting people didn't you? lol. There can't be more, can there???
Creeps. Do they realize they're being creepy? No, it's not a compliment, it's a reason to buy pepper spray! lol.

Unknown said...

Eeeww...husband saves the day!

Lindsay said...

sketchy-perverted people are sooo gross. shudder. was he some random family member? that seems to be the case at weddings, skeevy uncle so-and-so.

did you meet any normal people? :) surely your opinion of the south isn't soley based on these spectacular folks.

The Laminator said...

Wow, a running-related wedding? Now THAT's my idea of fun!

Ummm...sounds like creepy guy must have been drunk i think...i'm hoping at least...

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