When I was an intern in the administration building of the company I currenlty work at, people often asked if I was lost and then often proceeded to help find my parent.

Another great commonly asked question, "Is it bring-your-kid-to-work day again?" Maybe this could also be the reason why no one in the professional world takes me seriously?

I used to work at Target, which makes its employees wear bright red polyester vests and huge "TARGET" name tags. I swear to god, people would still ask me if I worked there. One time I said "No," and they continued on as if they hadn't heard me. Some people are dumb.

I was at The Sports Authority buying a bat, and this woman came up to me holding an old glove and asked,

"Do you know where I could find a glove like this?"

I said, "No, sorry."

Angrily, she responded, "Well, do you think you could you find someone that does?"

I said, "Yes, I suppose I could, but I don't work here."

She sheepishly apologized and explained that she thought I worked here because I was wearing a green shirt. I don't know what that has to do with anything, since none of the employees there wear green shirts.

A bunch of friends and I dressed in full medieval garb and donned our funny Monty Python imitation English accents and hopped into a tiny little car (there were 5 of us--one of us was equivalent to the gross tonnage of a small African nation) and drove all the way up to King Richard's Faire (in New Hampshire). We get there, and walk about talking with our funny accents.

Not only did people think we worked there (including people who _actually_ did work there), but they thought we would know the shortest path to the bathroom. That's not the funny part though. The funny part is someone would ask, and we would all huddle up together and discuss it for 15 minutes or so while the person would kind of shift their weight from one leg to the other in a vain attempt to maintain their dignity.

And then Friar John would say, "Well, blimey--wonder what that sign is right there!" And we would all turn and look. We were covering up the sign that pointed to the rest rooms.

Well, I hate to spoil the fun, but I have diabetes. That means that my vision can be quite blurred. Not always, only when there is too much sugar in my eyes.

When that happens, I may be staring right at you, and only see a ghostly silhouette. I will see that you are there. I will be able to look you straight in the eye, simply because I know where eyes are at the human body, not because I can actually see your eyes. But I will not see the color of your clothes. I will not see your name tag, or that you even have one. And you will not see that there is anything wrong with me because I am not blind, only my vision is blurred.

Under those conditions, I might ask you whether you work there, simply because I do not want to bother other customers. I might also ask you to point me to some item I am actually standing in front of but cannot recognize.

I am sorry if that bothers you, but if you work at a store, isn't it a part of your job to assist the customers? Aren't they the people who ultimately sign your paycheck? You don't know what reasons they have to ask you something that is obvious to you. You don't know they may not see you clearly. You don't know they may have just lost a beloved person and their mind wanders on other things than your name tag or the fact you are standing at the cash register. They are most likely trying to be kind because they do not want to bother you if you do not work there. Besides, if you snap at them, they may never come back, and you may keep wondering why the store suddenly cannot afford all of its employees and why it is you they decided to lay off.

Even if you are right, and the person asking you is a jerk who should know better, even then he is the jerk who pays for your groceries and for your Internet access.

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