You know those moments where you just can’t keep your giggles down? When every sound, touch, and smell trigger an uncontrollable laugh? It’s that moment when you’re with you best friend Catherine and for some reason, in that moment, you both let loose. Maybe you’re laughing at nothing, or maybe you’re laughing at all the old memories of hilarity you’ve shared over the years. Well, we were stuck in that space of hysterics when we walked into Sports Authority.
Our plan was to rent ski and snowboard equipment in advance at a local store, before heading out to the mountains. We figured this would save some time and probably get us a better selection. A bald-headed tattooed guy stood behind the counter. He asked what we needed and somehow, we struggled with our answers, as if we were kindergartners. Throw in laughter between pauses, and he started to look worried about the two “women” about to rent serious equipment from his store.
At one point, in the middle of one of our bouts of laughter, he looked up from the ski binding he was adjusting and asked, “Do you guys need helmets?” We playfully ignored his question until we realized he was asking for real. The dude was straight-up serious. We turned down his offer.
Then he asked where we were going heading off to. When we responded, “Big Bear” he asked if we knew how to get there. Catherine and I looked at each other and nodded in agreement that we didn’t. Then he asked, “Do you guys need a map?” Of course, we burst into laughter once again. Without hesitation and with loads of concern, he whipped open a brochure and highlighted the route on a map.
We could feel his stare at the back of our heads when we walked out of the store. Did he really just rent snow gear to two babbling idiots? We were so sure that he expected us to return in crutches and leg braces. We didn’t.
From then on, when faced with any random situation, Catherine and I make it standard practice to ask each other if we need helmets.