OMG, this happens to me all the time. I go someplace, do something perfectly normal and in line with what is expected of me, and still, the laughing around me gets to me. Like you Boz, I have been singled out and bullied all of my life. I was the smallest in my class for the longest time. Because of my small size, I couldn't keep up with the other kids or was as athletic as them in places like Gym class. I was the small meek mousey type who hid behind her long thick red hair (or a book) all the time.

Maybe it was my size that singled me out. Or my flaming red hair (I remember wanting it to be a normal color like blonde because I thought blondes were prettiest when I was little), or maybe it was the fact that I was so quiet and shy. I don't know why I am always singled out, but I am. It's annoying that there are people out there that can zero into your insecurities and magnify them with little more than an out of place giggle behind a hand.

I just wanted to say you're not alone, Boz, and to offer some advice an old T gave me. Basically, just keep your head up and mind your own business, as it's not really important what others think if you have done nothing wrong according to your ethics and morals. What is important is that you're not in the wrong, and you should take comfort in that and move onto the next part of the store without giving anyone like those employees any sort of attention. It's really their problem, not yours.