This incident has the possibility of winding up in the "Snork" thread. I made a cardboard template of the interior space of my Higgins frame, and took it with me to K-mart to purchase the correct size of softball bat. (See the "Bat Tank" thread.) When I got there, they had either moved them or I was remembering incorrectly. It was time to ask somebody.
Me (to young male clerk): "Excuse me, where are your softball bats?"
Clerk: "I can show you," *starts walking* "Are you looking for a full-size, or a youth bat, a tee-ball bat...?"
Me (showing template): "Well, it has to fit in this space."
- brief pause -
Clerk: "Okay...why?"
Me: "Because I'm making a fuel tank out of it and putting it in a space this size."
- another brief pause -
Clerk: Okay...well, they're right here, and I can't help you more with that." *makes himself scarce*
I would have loved to tell him more about our kind of hobby, but I think I may have given him the impression that I'm too strange to linger with. (Might be true.)