02. December 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Home · Tags: ,

This morning, I went out for breakfast by myself for the first time in months (years?). I went out early looking for shower door parts. There were no parts to be found that I was looking for (I had already located replacement parts on Amazon). So I took advantage of my location and headed to my diner of choice for breakfast! I had a short stack of buttermilk pancakes plus coffee to satisfy my early morning appetite. While I can make similar pancakes at home, I had neither the ingredients nor the desire to do so.

Since I was by myself, I decided to sit at the counter at the diner. The one thing that I always love about diners is that you almost always meet the most interesting people if you take the time to just talk to them. This visit would be no different. I joined the counter group, although most of the stools were empty this morning.

The guy sitting to my left was busily finishing his breakfast when I arrived. He had long hair, with a reddish tip to just ponytail. He was quietly finishing up his breakfast, seemingly like he was passing through town, rather than from town. I thought little of it and ordered coffee and the desired short stack. After my food arrived, he had finished and was making a phone call. Not caring to listen in, I tried to pay more attention to the TV showing some stupid kid show, but was drawn to his conversation.

He was talking to someone about an area that needed assistance from hurricane Sandy. Eventually, I couldn’t let my interest in the conversation go by, so spoke with him about what I had overheard. My wife and kids think I’m a freak because I always talk to strangers in line at the grocery store, in the parking lot, or almost anywhere else I find myself standing next to people I have yet to meet.

He was heading to Brooklyn (NY) after picking up whatever he could at Home Depot. He was organized through one of the Burning Man groups, and had friends that had been there several weeks earlier. He was headed down to help in whatever way he could. Knowing that I couldn’t help much, I handed him a few dollars, asking that he put it towards something they needed. It helped me feel better knowing that I helped someone who was heading out to help others!
While this was a brief interaction, it just goes to show how speaking to a stranger can sometimes create an opportunity to learn something new, meet someone with an interesting story, or just expand your own small world just a little bit.

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