So I go to the convenience store downtown today to grab a bottle of water, and in front of me in line is an elderly man -- pea soup green cardigan, mismatching houndstooth riding cap, mustard colored shirt and khaki pants.

As he lifts his basket up to the register, I notice the unusual contents of his purchase.

Candy.

All candy.

And tons of it.

I mean, we're talking one of those little carrying baskets full of candy bars, mini candies, the whole schmeer.

And we're nowhere near Halloween.

Now, this guy is older. He's got to be sixties earliest, maybe seventies. Not of the age where I'm thinking that heavy sugar intake of this magnitude should be a regular part of his diet, unless he's got some sort of disorder or he really, really, really likes his dentist.

So, of course, given that he looks a little shady, and he's an old guy, and he's got a giant basket full of candy, I think one thing:

Aspiring child molester.

Maybe I'm cynical. Maybe he's just got a lot of grandkids he likes to spoil. Or maybe he really does eat that much candy on a regular basis, or he likes to keep his cupboards stocked with the stuff.

But there was just kind of a creepy air about the whole thing, especially since he seemed almost ashamed to be buying that much candy at one time. So much so that it made me think of the character on ....Family Guy'' who's always propositioning Chris.

Again, maybe I'm just cynical.

But that's strange.