Category: convos with strangers

i’m talking to strangers… here’s why.

i was walking down the sidewalk when i noticed a guy approaching along the same path i was. i shifted to the right to avoid running into him at the same time he shifted to the left.

we were still on a direct course for collision.

we both shifted the opposite way.

the space between us was narrowing.

i paused, made eye contact, and let him step in the direction he wanted. we didn’t exchange words, but the combination of my actions spoke volumes and that guy was reading the right one.

oh, the sidewalk tango (come on, we’ve all done it). fortunately this time, it didn’t end up as a sidewalk tangle as we passed by each other without physical harm.

(i can’t say the same for a week ago when i was walking down the hallway with adriana, but that’s another story for another day.)

 

i’m talking to strangers… here’s why.

i grabbed my purchases and happily noted the lack of line. as i waited in the empty space, i pulled out my wallet and CVS card. ready now, i looked up, and saw a woman stepping towards the next available cash register. my eyes followed the path she just traveled and saw a massive line snaking down the card aisle.

me: “is this the line?”

woman in line: “it is.”

me: “i’ve never seen it go in this direction before.”

woman: “it is unusual.”

i reached the end and waited my turn.

awhile later at the grocery store (a few stores down from the CVS), i plunked my arugula onto the conveyer belt and settled in to wait in this line.

a voice piped up behind me. “now, the arugula. do you buy it for taste or nutritional value?”

an odd question, but i considered it. “both, i suppose.”

her: “it’s sort of bitter, right?”

me: “yeah, it’s peppery. i really like it.”

considering it was the only thing i was buying, my last statement was probably redundant.

i reached the head of the line where a new conversation started.

checkout lady: bag?

me: yes, please.

lady: paper or plastic?

me: plastic.

lady: game?

me: no.

lady: too many questions?

me: *laughs* no, i don’t mind.

lady: have a good night.

me: you too!

i had one last errand to run and yet another line to wait in. i’m not sure why there were so many people out on this particular evening, but wouldn’t you know when the guy behind me ordered the wheat tortilla, the question posed to me earlier crossed my mind. “do you buy it for taste or nutritional value?”

of course, that was the only thing it crossed. certainly not my lips.

okay, okay! i panicked. i guess i have a bit more to learn about talking to strangers. the mission continues.

 

i’m talking to strangers… here’s why.

“that was some gust, huh?” said the woman with the inside out umbrella.

“mmm hmmm.” the wind stole my umbrella and any other words i might have said.

and since clearly neither of us had mary poppins’s luck with umbrellas, we each scurried on our way hoping to get ahead of the next gust or at least get to our destinations before our clothes were soaked through.

p.s. this made miss the umbrella i got when i was studying abroad in london. those british really know how to make an umbrella. it’s a darn shame someone in DC stole it a year ago because i’ve been through 4 umbrellas since. come on, america. learn how to make an indestructible umbrella.