Vanity, thy name is...

I've been getting requests to hurry up already and tell the Jehovah's Witness story:

Alec and I decided to go and take a tour of the fitness center at the Santa Fe Community College. (Even though I work for the University of New Mexico, my office is at the community college.)

I planned to stay after the tour for my first work out.

I decided to wear the denim skirt that I used to wear when I was a teacher in Japan. It's an A-line skirt that falls about mid-calf. My idea was that putting a skirt on over my workout clothes would save time so I wouldn't have to change at the gym. I slipped it on over my snug-fitting work out shorts and admired myself in the mirror (lookin' good!) before going downstairs and asking Alec, "How do I look?" He knows when I'm fishing for a compliment so he gave the correct answer, "cute as a button!" To which I exclaimed in my best game show key, "ding ding ding!" I was pleased. I almost never wear skirts, so I was feeling all dressed up.

Later, after we toured the facility we separated. I worked out, put my skirt back on, and began walking down one of the halls of the college toward the library. I was still hot, so I kept my hair up in the bun I wore for the workout. I passed a skinny, older, African-American gentleman with graying hair. We smiled and greeted each other and I walked on by him.

Soon I heard him call, "excuse me?"
"Yes," I turned around.
"Are you a student here?"
"Uh, no, I work on campus," I answered.

"Ah," and then he said, "You're a Jehovah's Witness?"
"No," I said startled, "I'm not."
"Oh, sorry" he began to walk away and called back over his shoulder, "Well, I like your dress, anyway."

I walked away looking down at my skirt that almost reached my ankles with my white socks and tennis shoes sticking out from beneath. Okay, so I wasn't the vision of loveliness I had imagined.

Ah vanity!