This happened to me some years ago, but it’s so bizarre that I’ve never forgotten it.
I used to travel by bus to work each day. For a period of around six months, I’d get on the same bus at the same time as a (I’m guessing) late 30s woman who was always smartly dressed. I don’t know what she did for a living, because I’m from England and as a result would never dare make any small talk which wasn’t about either a) the weather, or b) the bus being late.
She was normally at the bus stop before me, and would smile and nod at me as I arrived. On a rare occasion, she’d say hello. Once, she said “I didn’t see you yesterday!” to which I replied “No, I got an earlier bus.”.
Six months or more of this, frankly un-British interaction.
Then one day, after the smile/nod, and as I put my headphones in to block out any possibility of conversation, this lady bent down and took off her shoe. And started to chew it.
Not use her teeth to try and undo her laces, as they didn’t have laces[ref]In case you’re wondering, they looked similar to the image that accompanies this post.[/ref]. Not try to peel something off with her teeth. Nothing like that – she was having a good old chew. It reminded me of how a dog gnaws a pigs’ ear. I stared at her in total disbelief, and her eyes met mine. She paused, but only for a moment, broke eye contact and continued eating her shoe.
Then the bus arrived, so she quickly put her shoe back on and boarded the bus like she’d just performed the most normal act in the world. We never spoke of it, because of course we wouldn’t, and I never her saw her eat any item of clothing ever again. She did openly read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I don’t think that’s a related incident.
