1. Talking to Strangers
I sometimes talk to strangers. An observation about what’s going on around us. A comment about what just happened that we both might laugh at. I don’t do it often, but I do it sometimes.
Trudy will confirm this. It usually makes her cringe. She can see from the look on my face. She can sense it coming. Who knows what I might say? To complete strangers, even.
I’m like my mother that way. I come by it honestly.
2. Sometimes You Lose
A few weeks ago we were at the Houston Zoo. It was the end of our visit, and we were wandering thru the primates. I don’t recall what precisely we were looking at, but there was something going on with some of the animals and two zoo employees.
Trudy and I walked up to the railing and watched whatever it was that was going on below us. She and I were separated, because there were other people there.
“I wonder what they’re doing?” I said just loud enough for the guy beside me to hear.
He turned his head very slightly but said nothing. His girlfriend looked as if she were about to speak.
“Do you think they’re giving them exercise?” I asked, turning to the guy.
He grunted and turned away, taking his girlfriend’s hand without further acknowledging my presence.
Moments like this make me kinda sad.
3. Sometimes You Win
We were eating breakfast tacos, and Trudy had gone to refill her coffee. The man at the table next to ours got up at about the same time and went to refill his drink.
He was wearing a loose-fitting, teal-colored shirt. I didn’t think twice about it, but then the woman pulled her phone out of her purse to check something. The case around her phone caught my attention. It was teal. The exact same teal as her husband’s shirt.
I got up and walked over to her.
“I know you’ll think this is weird,” I said after I got her attention. “But I think it’s amazing that the two of you are color coordinated.”
She had a puzzled look on her face.
“His shirt. And your phone. It’s like you planned it in advance.”
She turned to look at him across the restaurant, and she laughed out loud.
“No,” she said. “But it’s not a surprise, either. I buy all his shirts!”
Moments like this make me very happy.