The Friendliness of Strangers

Yesterday, I met a really cool old man. He put a smile on my face and brightened my day. My mom and I were at Williams for lunch. She was at the counter, and I went to grab us a table. I walked past this man who was probably about 65; he was rather tall, gray hair, big moustache, and well dressed. He appeared to be a regular in the small cafe, and was enjoying a nice big breakfast platter as he read the paper. He looked up at me and said, “Oh, no school for you today young lady?”. I wasn’t surprised that he thought I was a high school student, but replied simply, “No, it’s exam time now”. The look on his face showed confusion, as he said, “mmh, well what school do you go to?”. I said that I went to Laurier, and that I was in second year, and he apologized for thinking I was a lot younger than I was. (I hope that what everyone says is true – “when you grow up, you’ll appreciate everyone thinking you are younger than you are”, haha). He continued with his friendly demeanour, and asked what I was studying and what I hoped to do with my languages after school. We chatted for a few minutes, and he said that he admired the fact that I was studying three languages and that he was sure this would open up many opportunities for me in the future. As my mom and I enjoyed a warm and delicious lunch the man sat there reading his paper. When another older man entered the shop, and was looking for a seat, he pulled a table up beside his own, and asked if the man would like to sit down beside him so that he wouldn’t have to sit at the cold table next to the window. He introduced himself and started chatting up a storm with this old man too. The man I met yesterday was quite possibly one of the friendliest people I have ever met. It was nice to encounter someone like this and be reminded of how nice it feels when a complete stranger smiles and says a few kind words.