is anyone out there???

Generic hats are the pits.

My dad gathered a hose from the garage and as we stood in his driveway, he pointed down the street where he would be going to water some grass he had planted. "If you want to come help, I'll be over there." He pointed again.

I was waiting for a friend to pick me up, but nodded anyway. "OK," I told him. "Maybe I'll stop by to watch you work."

After 15 minutes of waiting, my friend still hadn't arrived and I started walking down the street. I figured it couldn't hurt to admire his new grass for a few minutes---the grass in some strangers' yard. Besides, I could see him sitting in the grass from where I was. His hat was one of a kind.

My dad wasn't facing me, so I decided to sneak up on him. I thought I'd surprise him. I'm not sure exactly what I was planning to do--either rub his shoulders or jump on his back. I was standing right behind him, with my hands on his shoulders when he whipped his head around. The look on his face when he turned his head toward me, was almost more surprised than the look on mine.

I could have sworn it was his hat. But apparently it was not. It was the hat of a very startled man who was definitely not my father. And I was at a complete loss for words. I mean what could I possibly say? "Sorry, I thought you were my father?" (As I all but straddled the poor man.)

So I said nothing and walked away. I heard another man ask "Did you know her?" and then there was a very fast exchange in Spanish. I just walked as quickly as I could back to my parents house. I never looked back.