Small Encounters cont..

(See previous post).. So I saw the old man again.. This time I decided to turn around and wave, he gave me the biggest smile; he has got to be the cutest little old man I have ever seen.

Small Encounters

So today I was at the rec center, when I saw a slightly hunched, older man pushing his walker down the track. As I came nearer, I had a strong and sudden urge to pat him on the back, as if to say, "Hey, you're doing a good job," or if anything, just to say hello. But right before I did, a woosh of reality came over me... "What am I thinking?" "This guy could think you're crazy!" "You can't just pat an older man on the back!" Maybe I was too severe on myself; but that prompted me to start thinking about our culture, full of "personal bubbles." I'm quite sure that compared to other cultures, we are considered very closed-off. Now, I can't say that I have NOT adapted to this way of thinking.. For example, a couple weeks ago, I was with a few guy friends attending a Reggae band performance. I was kind of dancing around, having fun, and then I turned around to see a Latina lady looking at me. She was sweet, introducing herself and saying some things I couldn't really understand, mostly because we were right next to the speakers. Anyway, I just thought she was exceptionally friendly and then for some reason she reached for my hand and kissed it. "She's hitting on me!" I thought. Well, it turns out she's really just that friendly with a lot of people. I'm still not sure why she kissed my hand, but that's my point.. I wonder if I was in another country, and culture, would I have been bothered by that at all? Or would that just be a sign of friendly affection? Who knows, I just wish I could give an old man walking with his walker, a pat on the back, and not feel like an idiot.

Oh the Little Ladies.

This is just too great. I am attempting to study at Panera, and am sitting near a group of older ladies.. I hear them chuckle at one of their friends who explains that her solar sunglasses (you know, the real dark, real big ones) don't quite do the job. So when even one ray of light comes through she has to close that eye. Haha, watch out. The friends thought it was pretty funny too. Anyway, this just makes me hope that someday, if I ever reach their golden age, I will have a group of cackling friends to shoot the breeze with.