a moment ago, a random a woman was rude to me on the sidewalk. i took a photo with a flash. not of her, or even close. i took it of another stranger because they were walking through a neon light. maybe she thought i photographed her. maybe she was mad i photographed anyone randomly. whatever she thought, she said "hey, please come here" from the stair stoop that she was sitting. she said "please" and wasn't screaming, but it was in an aggressive, mock polite tone. there was a metal railing with vine decorative pattern between us. i starred at her for a second without responding or walking toward her. she started unzipping her purse and repeated her request that i approach her. i hadn't been paying attention to what she'd been doing until she started talking to me, so i'm not all that sure, but it very much felt that she was removing weapon such as pepper spray. she was clearly crazy, drunk, and/or on drugs. i usually keep walking even when sane, sober people get mad about photographs. as i turned and walked away she screamed curses at me at the top of her lungs.
no biggie. lots of crazy people in the street say mean things. but she wasn't completely-gone crazy. she was crazy rude. i'm getting better and better at not letting other's inappropriate behavior bother me. it still irks me that she swore at me. and a little bit that she was going to remove a weapon, but as it was unlikely a gun that part bothers me less than the swearing at me about something that was none of her business.
it's important to not let strangers have the power to ruin your good mood. it can be difficult. how could she yell curses at me, her fellow human being, without knowing what i was doing or who i am. although it was not even a temptation, i had a moment of want to turn around once she yelled at me as i walked away. i don't want people to have that negative influence on me.