Paranoia

Last night Hotness and I went to see the Fantastic Four movie. (I had already seen it, but she hadn't)
We got there just in time to get our tickets, find a good seat and catch the trailers, without having to sit through all the boring ads and pop-culture trivia they display on the screen while you're waiting.

There was a guy that bought his ticket just before I got ours. Nobody really noteworthy, just some guy going to the show at the last minute.

We found our seats about halfway in the row and about two-thirds back from the screen.

The guy who got his ticket before me, picked a seat in the same row, about 4 or 5 places to my left. No biggie. It was a good row to see the movie without being either too close or too far back.
What was weird was, soon after he picked his seat he put his jacket and backpack(?) on the seat next to him and then disappeared.
Hotness noticed him being gone first, and I thought it was odd. Why would you leave your stuff in an un-occupied seat for an extended period of time amongst strangers?
I kept watching for him to appear with popcorn or a soda, but several minutes went by.
Then after the trailers started he showed back up without any snacks, sat down and that was that.
For about 2 minutes... then he left again.

This was starting to creep me out. Was he some nutjob who planned to set off a bomb? Or just just weird ADD person who can't sit still (and if so.. why go to a movie?)?
I waited for a couple of minutes and then left to either see if he was still in the theater or get an usher to check out what might be left in his seat.
As I got to the doors of the theater, there he was text messaging on his cell phone. I pretended to be looking for somebody else and went back to my seat followed by him shortly after that.

Nothing much transpired after the movie started and got under way. But about half-way into it, he got up and left again for a few minutes. Came back, sat down and finished the movie.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is this...
It used to be that this type of stuff was just unusual and annoying. But now we live in a world where we second guess almost every gesture or glance and document any odd behavior.
It's sad and pisses me off that we can't just go somewhere and have a good time without having to keep one eye on everybody and everything around us.

Which takes me back to being in Bellevue the other day. I know that I'm not going to freak out and attack someone, but the people at the mall don't know that and therefore were uncomfortable with my presence. But why? Because I didn't look or act like them.
And so I was a victim of the same suspicions I had at the theater last night.

What a drag.