I assume I must have food on my face so I stare back until they look away, then check my face.
And thus begins the death spiral. Bow to the inevitable.
Depending on my mood, I will stare back for a couple of seconds and then give them, a hammed up wink, a huge smile, smile and wiggle my eyebrows (think Groucho), blow a kiss. If they are close enough I sometimes stare and then start twitching my left eye, that usually scares them. Since I usually walk about thinking that I am the star in the “CTDamsel Show” I am never off put by their staring.
Pretty much this^
A friend of mine - a pleasant looking man with a beard, very college professor-ish - was in a restaurant once with his wife, and a child at an adjacent table was staring at him, absolutely mesmerized. My friend at first just ignored it, but when it became obvious the kid wasn’t going to look away, he took a big mouthful of food, chewed it up, then opened his mouth and stuck his food-covered tongue out! :eek:
Needless to say, the kid freaked! He started with the “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look!!!” but by that time, my friend had turned his attention back to his dinner and his wife. This looks pretty banal when written out, but if you knew this guy and knew how nice and easy-going he is, you’d know this kind of behavior was totally out of left field, ergo, hilarious!
Anyway, if someone was staring at me, I wish I had the nerve and presence of mind to react in a similarly wacky way, but I’m either oblivious or I assume my hair or clothing is askew. Mostly, I’m oblivious.
This is another reason why to always carry a deck of cards.
If you notice someone staring at you take out a card and present it saying “Is this your card?”
Someone staring at me usually means I’ve done something foolish/stupid - again. Like the time I was eating onion rings, got distracted as I conveyed one to my mouth, and five minutes later realized I was walking around with a ring still held in my lips with the circle up around my nose. How it got around my nose I’m not sure. Or the time I …um… I think I’ll just stop there… you guys get the idea.