Let me start by saying that I am an introvert by nature that flexes to extroversion easily, especially in small group settings. Drop me into a large group where I know no one and I become very, very quiet. It’s just how I’m made 😊.
However, I do tend to strike up easy conversations with strangers on the regular – when I’m out shopping, at a restaurant, on the street. And I find most of these conversations exhilarating because everyday people are fascinating, and I never pass up the opportunity to converse with most people. Basically, I hijack them 😁. But I am never disappointed. I have learned and taught nuggets of data in these (usually brief) conversations and I most times I leave in a better mood than I was before I encountered said person/people.
Recently I met Irma and Elinor outside of a local restaurant. They had been there when I had entered and exited (an hour later) so I commented on “ladies that lunch” and how much I loved Eleanor’s hat. She complimented me on my hair and thus a conversation was borne.
When we introduced ourselves, Irma commented on how uncommon their names are, especially these days. She was not wrong, but I did get to surprise her with the fact that she is not the first Irma I have ever met – that I had an Aunt Irma. Now if my Aunt Irma was still alive, she would have been a lot older than these two lovely ladies, but it was a fun fact I shared nonetheless 😊.
Also let me say that the ladies knocked me over when they told me their age – both were 75 and looked at least 10 years younger. I hope I look that good when I’m 75 😁.
So Eleanor was more the chatterbox of the two and in the space of about half an hour, I learned that she had been a psychologist (she also confirmed my broken depression brain), had bred dogs in Japan (if I remember correctly), had lived abroad in many places because her husband had worked for IBM and she had relocated to Columbia SC from San Francisco but that her family has been in San Francisco since the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. She and Irma were utterly delightful, and I was sad to leave the conversation, but we all had things to do. I did impart some local shopping recommendations and got the name of a new restaurant in Columbia to try.
I live for these kinds of organic conversations with people I most likely will never see again. It’s a way to connect in a world that has become too reliant on technology to communicate.
Therefore, I challenge you to start up a random conversation and see where it leads. You might leave on a high note, having made some one’s day because you saw them and acknowledged them just by listening.
Note: More “Everyday People” stories to come…
My Lemons My Lemonade 