Sometimes A Mirror Can Be Your Friend

Twice in as many days I've seen someone walking by and had those words pop into my mind: sometimes a mirror can be your friend.

The first time was yesterday when I was driving away from the Y. A lady was walking in and I noticed some sort of mark on her pants. As I slowly drove by and came even with her, I could see that it was one of those strips that are on new pants which tell the size of the pants about eight times. 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 all in a row. Anyway, I couldn't quite see what size it said (I was curious), though from the look of things it wasn't, say, a four or a six.

And then today I was sitting in my van, waiting to pick up my kids from school, when a mom hurried by with this strange growth emerging from the back of her shirt. Upon closer examination, I realized that it was a shoulder pad! It was twisted all strange and coming out of the neck of her shirt. How on earth did it get there? And how could she not feel it? It must've felt strange. I know it sure looked strange. I laughed right out loud when I realized what it was. (Which isn't to say I was laughing meanly at her; it was simply a comical sight.)

There've been so many times when I've come across someone and cringed---skirt caught up in the back, trailing something mysterious from a shoe, etc. And why is it always so awkward to say---"hey, the whole world can see your backside"? I don't know, but it just is. Maybe I'll just carry my friend, the mirror, around at all times---in addition to keeping myself put together properly, I can whip it out when it's warranted, wave it around some clueless fashion "don't" and save myself the awkward hemming and hawing.