It's always worse
Readings attract two types of people: readers and freaks (the two aren't mutually exclusive). I learned yesterday at my Personal Ad workshop that workshops attract two types of people: those interested in your topic and freaks (see above disclaimer).
My freak was a man who was very concerned about the Tufts rape case. He meant the Duke lacrosse rape case but he kept saying Tufts as if the two are interchangeable. He said he wanted to get 'back into' dating but what if, after a date, a woman leveled a false charge of rape against him? What to do?
You may have many answers to this question or more questions as a result of this question, but here's the thing: you cannot engage this person in a reasonable talk. It's impossible. Give up, don't try. My tactic was to say I didn't feel comfortable dispensing legal advice. Julie (best friend and library coordinator who planned this event) suggested he speak with a community police officer about his concerns. She also suggested that perhaps this workshop was not best suited to address his concerns and she assured him it would be okay if he wanted to leave.
He didn't leave. And despite this very frightening beginning, the workshop went well. I deep sixed the Q&A at the end to keep our friend from bringing up his Tufts rape case worries, and the peace was kept.
What did this teach me? No matter how much I think I've planned for the worst case scenario (no people showing was mine) I have not. The freaks always surpass your expectations of crazy behavior. Always.
I told my Mom about this, and she said, "That would make a great book title. It's Always Worse." Let's hope I do not amass such a collection of freak stories that I could write such a book. Oh who am I kidding? It's ALWAYS worse.