Confession: As you’ve seen here, I get excited when I see someone else with a port wine stain.  Really excited.  But suddenly, I face That Dilemma, now from the other side: do I ask them about it?

Running through my head: Will they think I’m too forward?  Am I touching on childhood trauma?  Do they hate their port wine stain and hate their life and hate their bullies and hate their parents?  Will I bring all that up by being one *more* person to remark on it?  Or, worse, will they think I’m a backward hick who’s never seen someone different?  Will they patronize me and give me a lecture about how we’re all alike inside in spite of our physical differences and I shouldn’t even notice differences like that?

But… I’m on your team, man!  I want to know about your stain!  What’s your story??  What have you learned?  What should I tell my daughter?  Did you treat it?  Why?  What was it like?  Would you do it again?  Do you ever cover it up?  What else do you know about it?

Usually, all this panicked thinking takes too much time and I just end up casting long, meaningful glances in their general direction while we’re standing in line, and hoping they’ll look up and suddenly notice a comrade in my daughter’s lovely similarly-port-wine-stained face, but instead they pay for their latte and walk out, perhaps vaguely aware of some stalker-like presence nearby.

Maybe next time.