On Talking To Strangers

It is undeniable that we are all told at very early age not to talk to strangers, and most people kind of practice this all of their lives. To me, the second jpoint in that sentence, making it last all of one's life, is kind of sad. 

I am a big blabber mouth, I talk to everyone and I always have, even as a child waiting in line to pay for pack of Fleers bubble gum, with girls and women both in front of me and behind me, plus the cashier. I talked to them all, all of the time, and in the rare position of one or more being another boy or a man, black or white or otherwise, I talked to them as well. This is one of the things that helped me gain in knowledge so as  could pass my English classes and even math classes. It helped a lot of my poetry writing later in life, and by the way, examples of things I learned can be read in my book, GOLD VAULT OF POETRY, or WRITING SONNETS IN YOUR SLEEP FOR YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR SOUL MATES AND FOR CA$H" both which can be purchased at Barnes and Noble and also on this very Poetry Soup Store and every online book store.

There is always something any person you come in contact with is wearing, or doing or whatever, to bring up a meaningful conversation with anyone. Once I saw an older man sneak a pack of Cigarettes into his pocket at a S  Kress store, when cigarettes were on open counters. He got behind me, and I started talking to the girl ahead of me how bad and dangerous it was to shoplift. I swear this is true. The guy stepped out of line and went back to the cigarette section, and though I did not actually see what he did, my bet is that he did one of two things, he either stuck another pack into his pocket, or he put the one he was about to steal back.

Nearly all girls loved to have me talking to them, and the reason I talked to more girls is because there were, and still are, more girls than boys in grocery and most other stores, even Home Depot these days. They literally beg for conversation, all it takes is a compliment on a necklace, tell her your Grandma had one like it, like her shoes, and maybe tell her you wear different colored socks on your feet, which I did and still do many times for this very reason. It always brings a smile and a new friend. Always.

So I guess what I am saying is, open up, meet the world, communicate with the world. And the most important thing, the older the person you strike up a conversation the better, most older people are very lonely today. We do not need to let them stay lonely. It is a truly wonderful feeling just to make an elderly person smile in public. Or on their front porch as passing by. Or across a fence of steel designed to keep other people out. 

It is truly wonderful.