For those of us who have lived in Milwaukee our whole lives, it's difficult to go into public without seeing someone we know. Personally, I have lived within one square mile for most of my life -- and have held a series of high-profile jobs -- so anonymity is even more challenging.
Much of the time, I love seeing people I know in public. Milwaukee offers a "small town" feeling even though it's a medium-sized city, and that has always been very appealing to me. Sometimes, however, I just want to run to the grocery store wearing my dorky glasses and not run into anyone. Inevitably, I always do.
Maybe I should save this question for the Sunday Sound-off, but In such cases, is it OK to pretend not to see someone? I don't mean to completely blow them off, but let's say you think you see someone you know in the frozen foods, and you decide to avoid that section for a while, just so you don't have to chat it up.
Do humans have an unspoken understanding that sometimes we just can't acknowledge each other because we just don't have the energy for small talk?
I admit, I have done this, and I have experienced the other end of it too. Usually I attempt to be friendly, outgoing and enthusiastic in public, especially when "bumping into" people I don't know very well or haven't see in a while But sometimes I just want to blend into the crowd, be the proverbial wallflower, slip away into the daylight unnoticed.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
