Ever since I was young, my mother would say “Hello” or “Good morning” to random people we passed on the street while out for a stroll. It’s a habit I’ve picked up on, but have limited to suburban areas.

Today, I was walking outside of my Manhattan office building, I passed a co-worker on the street and said, “Hello.” Well, the man next to her thought it was for him, and came up to me with this flirty look on his face. “Hey baby, how are you doing today?” he asked.

Well, this took me by surprise. I replied, “Uh, I was saying hello to my co-worker, but hello to you, too.” Well, if words could deflate! He said, “Oh…” and walked away. I felt sort of bad, but when I turned around a block later, he was still standing there and waved at me. I waved back.

Lexcie met me a few minutes later for lunch and I told him. Naturally, he laughed, because he knows he has nothing to worry about. (And not like I have anything to worry about either, because he tends to get hit on by the same gender.)

Well, I hope I didn’t ruin that poor guy’s weekend. Just goes to show you what kind of power one little word has.