This morning on my bike ride through the forest preserves I was thinking about John's point about chatting people up on airplanes. I will admit to being an anti-social bastard when it comes to chatting with strangers but I start every day with a nice long hike or bike ride on the local trails. Every person I pass I smile, wave and say good morning. I find this be be sort of generational. 90% of people over 50ish wave and greet back. Only about 10% of people under 40 will reciprocate. In fact most of them won't even make eye contact. The 40ish to 50ish crowd is about 50/50.

only ten thousand stars are visible to the naked eye
but from my last count infinite sanaties

and sometimes finding your own identity includes isolation from others.
going through phases can create waves, but it matters in any state.

I make weird New Year's resolutions. One year it was to talk to one stranger every day. I made this resolution because I thought that life might be passing me by because of my innate shyness. I was right.

I thought I would have trouble doing it at first, but it turned out to be as Eric Hoffer would say, just like picking beans. When I started, I noticed that the strangers I was targeting all seemed to be young ladies, so I deliberately broadened my searches. I learned a lot from the project.

The most intelligent conversationalists are high school students. The most enthusiastic, retirees. The most wary, women between 19 and 50.

God drives a Rolls Royce! And He never has to put gas in it. Cool!

that ohso sounds like something a rajneeshpuram might say

Don’t target people, Phat; just be yourself. They will either come to you or leave you alone.

It’s the Taoist Way.

I sorta like the O^s this year. The last time I liked an Os team, Weaver was managing. Or maybe Hank Bauer.

Unfortunately it was against the Twinkies, so it^s not an official at bat.

At this point, haven't we found our identities?

Who are you when you're not at home?

***

Mrbaseball's assessment is pretty accurate. When I'm out walking, I say hello to people or smile. It's mostly older people who acknowledge my existence.

There's something known as phatic communication. Basically it's smalltalk, such as How's the weather? or How are you doing? Simply, it's a way to establish communication, to recognize the humanity of others. It's not merely empty talk.

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I've always suffered from that same sort of innate shyness. Still do. I have trouble even asking family or friends for small favors.

My life in academia has forced me to hide that shyness, and I do a good job of hiding it. Only a very few people see through that.

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it was an attempt to encourage the frame of reference be widened outside the comfortable bounds of lounge posters, as if we were never a teen.

Does that teen still lurk inside of us?

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i sure hope so

Mine sure does. He's out trying to score a six-pack so he can get the girl across the street drunk.

I was expecting this (before fixed your link so I could see it):



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you say hello to strangers when you are insecure. no reason to say hello or even nod your head. they are just passerby's, like someone in a car.

old people still open their door when a stranger knocks.

That's 1 theory

Just thought of my friend when flying to Europe was seated next to George "The Animal" Steele. If he didn't talk to him, he wouldn't have known what he was really like.

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George could talk?

Re: the talking to strangers etc. I'm slowly overcoming my misanthropic nature, and getting better about chatting with random people I come across.

A lot of that is going on camping adventures. A lot of time, someone says hi when I'm walking around the campground or they're in the neighboring site, and we get to chatting a little bit.

One of my favorite WWE announcer exchanges remarking on George.

Jessie Ventura: Look at all that hair all over him McMahon!
Vince Mc Mahon; No no no Jessie, that's fur!

I wonder if they were coached on their choreography.

my 80s mullet was prone to ear scorpions,
but never really dug their brand of cougar gold.

Bacardi spiced spirit drink sure has a lot of vanilla in it. Not that I don't like vanilla.