Conversation Killer

It started with a girl- a brown haired raggamuffin whose snarled hair had been roughly cut at the neck leaving a few longer strands. She was about the age of my children. She had a slightly haunted look about her. The brown haired girl asked for books on UFOs. We only had one in the children's section so I showed her a few more in the adult section. She found a quiet spot and began to devour the book. I hope she found refuge.

A few minutes later, a man approached me. He was bearded and equally shabby. He asked for books on UFOs and other unexplained phenomenon. I was able to take him there with no trouble while he told me about... his friend with top secret military clearance who worked on a military base that has seen UFOs real ones because he'd know if it was military but it wasn't. Well, He started to talk about the big man- Big Foot that is. He was just getting wound up when I mentioned my Uncle had seen Big Foot. He wanted to know where.

"Not sure. He was a trucker so it could have been anywhere but he also did a lot of drugs so who knows."

"Not all drugs make you see things. That is so awesome. You should ask him about it sometime."

"I don't really keep in touch with him anymore. He's in jail."

"Oh, yeah? What for?"

"Murder."

He certainly wasn't expecting that from the mild mannered librarian; and that about ended it. I love having one absolute conversation killer in my back pocket. It really is an essential tool. I'm going to pass on this bit of wisdom when my daughter reaches dating age.