I was leaving a doctor’s appointment and as I rounded the corner to the waiting room I could hear the dulcet tones of a ukulele, but it sounded close.

My first reaction was “What in the fuck is going on?” as I scanned the ceiling for the speaker where the Muzak was coming from. Then in the waiting room I saw an older white man with a ponytail and a Hawaiian shirt calmly strumming his ukulele.

Again, I reacted, “What the fuck is going on?”

Then I caught myself. This… is… weird.

Why was he playing it in the doctors office? Was he a minstrel? Was he calming the souls of fellow patients? A minister? A minister to himself? Does he just love Hawaii and goddamn it ain’t no one gonna stop him not even the cops at the doctors office?

I think this moment struck me like a ton of bricks because it’s been awhile since I’ve encountered weird due to the pandemic. Angry? Oh, I’ve encountered plenty of angry. Hot-headed assholes losing their shit in a Chic-fil-A drive thru, yeah I’ve seen that, but been awhile since I’ve seen weird.

The world could use a little more weird.

I miss weird. I miss old Austin.