Did He Just Say That?

     Normally I write about Beloved Child and my journey parenting a teen soon to be leaving home for college.
     Not today though.   So many of you have written about the odd and disconcerting things that people say to you when they see you have a child who might be adopted.  Today was my day, but not with my child.

    I am not an avid yard saler on a regular basis.  This morning I went to the local farmer's market and then decided to stop by a yard sale that I had seen advertised.  I parked and walked down the long driveway, noticing that lots of people were leaving but no one was carrying anything that they had purchased (a sign that things are overpriced?).  I wandered around for a few minutes and then saw two little girls digging through a bin full of trolls.   Of course I had to stop and chat with them about the trolls and the hair color etc. and then with their mom who was standing nearby.  After a little chatting about the dolls and the other amazing things the little girls were finding, I asked about her girls, as one was blonde and the other appeared to be African or African American.  She told me that the younger one was adopted in Ethiopia.  Excitedly, I shared that several of my friends have sons and daughters from Ethiopia and that my own daughter is from China.  We engaged in the usual type of conversation that parents do when they have something like this in common - we talked about the waiting, the challenges, the countries etc. and then, (this is the odd part), an older man who was overhearing our conversation jumped in with, "Have you heard how the terrorists are using babies to bring in bombs and weapons to this country and that they put the bombs on them or in them so it doesn't hurt them?"
        He went on about babies and terrorists and bombs for a few minutes and then wandered off.  I looked at the mom and said something like "Well, that was inappropriate, especially in front of the kids."  She responded with "I'll have to think of what to say to people like that when they (the girls) are older and can understand."
        I wish I had thought to say to the man "What kind of idiot are you, saying that to a mom and in front of her kids?"   Really and truly, I am generally a polite person, but what can you say to someone who says something like this to you?  

     The mom and I continued to talk, her husband joining the conversation and we exchanged email addresses and moved on, but since the odd man's comments I have been thinking, "Did he just say that?"

p.s. another odd thing - the trolls.  If it had been my yard sale I would have been handing out those trolls to every little kid who came along, free for the taking.  The yard sale woman came by and said to the mom, "Those are collector's items. I really have to charge $5. a  piece for them."  $5. for a used troll?  Really.   I am stunned.