I’ve learned something these past three days. I need to hang around my three-year-old nephew more. Don’t get me wrong I see him once a month and talk to him on a weekly basis, but there’s a lot I can learn from him. Being three years old, he’s the most curious little guy I know.
I’ll start from the beginning. Due to yesterdays lack luster performance I have to admit my spirits weren’t exactly soaring. Also, because the cost of a washer and dryer in my building is highway robbery I’ve been venturing to a different laundry mat each week or so to clean my clothes. It was a great opportunity to rebound. After breakfast I emptied the hamper, grabbed Game of Thrones and sped off determined to succeed.
There I am, plunked down reading the next chapter of my book beside a girl whose also got her nose buried in what I assumed was Twilight, but didn’t get a look at the cover so who knows (yeah yeah, I shouldn’t assume). BAM! lack of inertia kicks in (read day 1 if you’re confused) and I’ve hit a wall. Again I don’t know what the heck to say. Then doubt sets in because if I don’t accomplish this right now there’s a chance I’ll suffer the same fate as yesterday.
She gets up and leaves before I open my mouth…I failed.
However, there’s another sitting three seats to my right. All is not lost. She has her face buried in a phone, and like clockwork I hit a wall. What the heck do I say? I want to push myself beyond “Hi” and I keep coming up empty. Eventually lightning strikes, I’m going to ask her what cell phone provider she has. I have a new iPhone 4S coming this Friday and with my new purchase comes a new provider, Sprint. I figure that will get the ball rolling which will lead into natural conversation.
She rises, and leaves….you’ve got to be kidding me!
That’s disappointing but at least I thought of something to say to a stranger with a smart phone, which should take a micro second. In the meantime I have to put my clothes into the dryer, and this task proves to not be as easy as it sounds. You see, this establishment uses a credit card with a computer chip embedded within the plastic to keep track of your balance for washers and dryers. After loading my wet clothes into an open dryer and selecting the preferred temperature setting I inserted my card to start the dryer. “05 min” clocked in on the display with no visible controls to add time. Perplex, I asked the girl next to me how to add more time. She ran me through the basics and I decided not to waste the opportunity and told her about my experimentation involving laundry mats all around the area…this being my second one. Afterward I thanked her for helping me and satisfyingly sat down to continue Game of Thrones. Day three was complete.
After some reflection I came to the conclusion that I’ve been having trouble coming up with something to say because deep down I don’t really want to, for me forcing conversation is like any other crummy chore. Going forward curiosity and, perhaps more important, authenticity should be integrated into speaking to strangers. Actually, it should be the foundation.
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