Crazydates

A Tale of Unsettling Frugality

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a crazy date, but the encounter with the woman, whom I'll refer to as Susan, left me with a profound sense of sadness.

We initially met through a free online dating site, and while she initially appeared quirky yet sweet, it became apparent that there was something off about her. As I always look for the best in people, and since she did seem fun, we arranged to meet for a date.

We met at a nearby restaurant for dinner the following Friday and my initial worries became more concerning. Her disheveled appearance, with wrinkled clothes and ill-fitting attire, hinted at a deeper struggle within her. Susan revealed her obsession with frugality, describing how she sourced her clothing from the university's lost-and-found box and collected mismatched shoes left at a Japanese restaurant.

During our meal, her behavior became increasingly unsettling. She insisted on asking the waiter to bag up every possible leftover, including scraps from my plate. Her relentless pursuit of discarded food items, such as bread or salad, spoke to her deep-rooted fear of waste. Susan even took out plastic bags from her pockets, filling one with a used teabag and another with the contents of the sugar bowl, proclaiming "waste not - want not" with an eerie smile. She meticulously folded paper napkins, including mine, to save for future use, revealing her extreme frugality extended even to toiletries. She proudly shared her habit of collecting slightly used napkins and salt and pepper packets from abandoned trays at the mall food court, a testament to her belief that society is wasteful.

When the waiter returned with a bag filled with kitchen scraps, meant to satisfy Susan's insatiable need to salvage anything discarded, I realized I couldn't pursue any sort of relationship. I bid her farewell and headed for the door, and as she eagerly headed to the bathroom in search of free tissues or a partial toilet paper role that she might scavenge, I made my swift exit.

The encounter left me with a sense of profound sadness, witnessing someone trapped in a cycle of relentless frugality, scavenging for items others would consider insignificant. It was a reminder of the hidden struggles individuals may face, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding in our interactions with others.

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