Category: convos with strangers

strangers? yup, i talk to them. here’s why.

me: i’d like a small dark chocolate hot chocolate, please.

her: that’ll be [some amount of money i now forget].

me: *pays with cash*

her: do you want your receipt?

me: no, thanks.

her: is there anything else?

me: *stares, as if that will help decipher what she said. (you see, i had one ear bud in, but the music was on pause, so there was no reason i shouldn’t have heard her* *thinks to self: is this what it’s like for people to talk to soft-spoken me?* *sounds transmit* *brain calculates* *thinks more to self: what would normally be said at this point in a transaction?*

her: *starts to repeat herself*

me: oh, do i need anything else?

her: *smiles*

me: no, i’m all set. thanks.

then i, along with my thoughts, stepped to the side to wait for my very special brand of hot chocolate (read: it tastes like a melted candy bar.)

i occasionally talk to strangers. here’s the reason why.

i’d just finished my crossfit workout and was headed home. i was walking, balancing my water bottle in the crook of my arm, and typing on my phone. (i’m not normally one to type on my phone whilst walking, but i had to put in the details of my workout before i forgot them.) i came up upon the crosswalk of danger.*

*this crosswalk is named as such (by me) because, when driving, it’s incredibly hard to see pedestrians waiting to cross, so it appears they pop out of nowhere causing you to slam on your breaks to avoid (a) hitting them and (b) breaking the law of not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. having been on the driving side of that, i’m usually petrified to cross there on foot. i’m very tentative and don’t usually cross until cars have stopped completely or there’s an vast gap between cars and i can sprint to the other side.

so, back to the moment. i looked up from my phone to check the status of the cars. one was headed towards me, so i turned my attention to my phone while i waited for it to pass. two voices caught my attention. i glanced up and two men were in the crosswalk. i looked back at the car. it didn’t appear to be slowing. i stared at the men. they were continuing boldly on. i looked at the car. it may have slowed its speed a touch. i studied the men. they studied me. i studied the car.

i figured “what the heck” and stepped into the road.

man #1: we’ll protect you.

man #2: we’ll stop him.

me: THANK YOU. *walks in path between two bodyguards*

my thanks was of the sincerest variety because after the workout i’d just completed, my arms were nothing more than cubes of jello and wouldn’t help in whatever precarious situation a crosswalk + a blind spot + a speeding car could create. also, that was the first time i’ve felt safe as a pedestrian on that portion of the road. thanks to those guys, maybe it’s time to rename the crosswalk of danger?

i occasionally talk to strangers. here’s the story of why i do such a thing.

i was walking to work on a cloudy, cool spring morning.

man: there’s a blue sky to the west.

woman: i see it!

me: *thinks to self, they’re neighbors. how cute. i see the blue sky too, but they weren’t talking to me.*

i kept my eye on the sky and continued on my way.

boy: good morning.

me: *turns head* *realizes it’s not me he’s addressing*

girl: hi!

me: *another set of neighbors or, more likely, classmates, saying hi. i love the sense of community, but when’s it my turn?*

i clutched my coffee cup and kept shuffling towards work. i spotted my sidewalk regular and knew my turn had arrived. i couldn’t contain my grin.

her: hi.

me: good morning!

and it was, especially since my route to work kept me headed literally and figuratively towards that blue sky.