Everyone Meets a Psycho

I think every person in every trip has a run in with a psycho. Usually it is never intended. It just sort of happens. Sometimes you come out shaken, but in the end, you always laugh. Here's my story:

I was visiting a museum in Rome, walking around and looking at ancient sarcophagus, when my cell phone rang. It was my cousin who wanted to talk about tonight's plan. I scurried to a secluded corner and started talking to her when suddenly I hear a voice behind me. "Excuse me!" I turned around and in front of me stood this lady. I don't remember much of the lady other than an impression: short kidna purplish hair, a long dark purplish dress, and really thick dark green eyeliner over small eyes. She starts telling me,"Excuse me! You cannot use cell phones in a museum!"

Oh geez! I didn't know that!

"You need to go outside immediately and finish your conversation OUTSIDE!"

OK. No problem. I nooded my head and I started walking towards the door while trying to let my cousin know that I needed to hang up. After all, I didn't want to leave the museum just yet.

I also briefly thought how it was strange that a museum person didn't tell me this rule, especially when they are found everywhere. But that was OK. I obviously broke a major rule of museum etiquette since this lady was pretty upset.

Then the lady said, "I am going with you! I am going to MAKE SURE you go OUTSIDE!" Then she starts to follow me, continuingly repeating how I needed to go outside and how she's going with me. And she is getting louder and louder. So imagine me on my cell phone, trying to walk out of a room, with this lady following me and yelling into my ear how I need to go outside, while I am trying to tell my cousin that I have to go, but I can't hear her because this lady is yelling in my ear! I started getting a little frustrated but, in between the lady's snapping, I was able to let my cousin know I would call her back after I finish the museum.

I press the end button, show the lady my cell phone is off, and start walking away. I've hung up the phone, I've stopped talking, so the problem is solved, right? Wrong!

Then she hissed, "Who do you think you are?"

... Who do I think I am?

"Who do you think you ARE!" Then she starts yelling! In a museum! "YOU ARE IN A MUSEUM! YOU CANNOT TALK IN A CELL PHONE WHILE IN A MUSEUM! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!!"

Now mind you, I have absolutly not said ONE WORD during this whole "conversation". The only time I've spoken was to let my cousin know I had to go. I couldn't believe it! I just stared at her. I had hung up the phone. What else do you want, lady? And more, even the people who where with her were telling her to calm down. When she didn't, they walked away from her, embarrassed!

And she didn't stop yelling at me. She kept going and going. And honestly guys, I almost lost it. I almost let my temper rise, let her have it and told her who I am. Almost. But I didn't. Because the truth is, I looked at her and I felt sorry for her. It was obvious that she had blown this WAY out of proportion, which meant something really bad was happening in her life. She needed a scape goat and picked the girl talking on a cell phone in a museum. Though this doesn't excuse her behavior what-so-ever, I didn't have the heart to yell back at her. My sadness deflated my anger. Whatever was bothering her had to be pretty bad to make such a ruckus in a museum.

So I walked away again. And this time she didn't follow.

She did turn to a friend and in another langauge, said something. Must have been a Latin-based language because I understood what she said: "Who does she think she is?? %&£&#%$!!!"

Ah well. I didn't see her after that. And I enjoyed the rest of the museum.

By the way, do you want to know what the "cream on top" of this story is? The moment I walked away an uniformed man approached me. He worked for the museum. He said, "I am very sorry."

I looked at him and said, "No. I am very sorry. I didn't know about that rule."

"No. In museums, you are allowed to talk on cell phones."

...

HA! So all of this was over nothing.

Psycho lady. ;-)