i don’t want to say that i’m a bad person — but i placed bets on the behavior of a homeless man last night at the outlook inn.

there was a girl across the street and she and her dog-toting boyfriend were locked into conversation with a local homeless guy for about a good 20 minutes.
it all started when i said “i’ve got a dollar that says that the conversation ends in 2 minutes”.

hunter said “5″.

brad hack said “3 minutes”.

another said “4″.

basic rules were set down. conversation must end by both parties walking away. at 3 minutes, 10 seconds — “the hack zone”, as it were — girl attempts breakaway, hack claims victory. but WAIT! homeless man reinitiates, hack cringes, feels his 3 dollars drifting away like a bottle in the sea.
it is ruled that conversation never ended. 3 minutes 20 seconds passes, and we are all in the grip of the situation. hack whispering under his breath “walk away, walk away” — the man at 4 minutes hoping for more… the seconds tick by, my gaze shifting in half-second intervals — secondhand / disturbing social experiment / secondhand / disturbing social experiment…

at 3 minutes 25 — girl turns away, homeless man does the same, and conversation is ruled overwith! there is a loud commotion as we revel in the excitement of our disturbing social experiment. others in the bar swoop to the window — wondering what our exitment is all about. hack swipes his cash from the table like a man catching a fly — “the next game of pool is on me, boys!”