Waiting on a Bench at the Mall

Beezer

Beezer

Well-known Member
...for my daughters to finish shopping.

This old gentleman with a cane walks through the Mall sliding doors and sits down beside me and tells me his life story.

He was amazing! 37 years with the RCMP force. He was in charge of protecting our Prime Ministers and was in charge of a security detail and had hundreds of men and women under his wing. He was 94 years old. I loved every minute of our chat until the girls showed up.

Then my daughter started crying thinking it was sweet that I had talked to this old retired Police Officer.

I dunno man, I was just born with that face or something. People just come up to me all of the time for some reason or another. But it sure was a treat talking to this older senior...made my day! :)

I told him for a joke when I answer my phone in public I say, "Yes Mr. Trudeau!" People around me always giggle at that. To which he replies, "Oh, I've got Justin's phone number on my phone."

Awesomeness!
 

JeeperDon said:
I talk to random strangers too, make up all sort of stuff.
Click to expand...
No! I swear this man was the real deal. Told me he was stationed in Ottawa, British Columbia...Japan for 7 years. He did crime profiling as well for years. I guess this former 'bad guy profiler' sized me up and figured I was a decent enough chap to talk to. ;)
 

I also enjoy having a conversation with strangers when I am out and about. I like to sit and people watch. Watching families trying to keep the kids out of trouble. Watching the kids sneak something into the grocery cart without Mom realizing it.
Little ones begging for a candy at the check out. I find it fun to treat the kids if I am ahead of them. I just pick up what they were asking for, pay with my groceries, then turn and hand a little bag to the Mom.
 
While I was still in the military (Marines) and I would sit in the food court in uniform at the mall, I came to the conclusion that people liked to thank me for my service. There was also another type that would ask me if I have been to Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya. I would tell them yes, yes and yes. Strangest question I was ever asked was, "Is it true that women in the Mid East don't shave their legs or under their arms?"
 
My dad and one of my uncles were the same way. They never met a stranger they didn't like and it was a rare stranger who didn't become an instant friend.

I had my uncle with me at the mall one day and he was tiring out. I parked him on a bench and ran into a store to see if they had any jeans on sale. I swear I wasn't gone but 10 minutes. I came out and he was sitting on the bench with a middle-aged couple. "Oh, here, meet Bob and Betty Buttons. They're down here for a week from Cleveland, visiting their son and his family. Their son moved here after he graduated from Ohio State and he really likes it here. Bob and Betty took the grandkids to Disney on Tuesday but they said it was just too hot and crowded to go back for a second day. They're thinking they might come down for Christmas and maybe go to Universal Studios. Their son lives over in Ocoee and is a manager at a big auto place down on Sand Lake Road. He's got a house on a lake and they all like to waterski.........." I was really surprised we didn't all go out for dinner after that...LOL.
 
I'm known as Mrs. Have-a-chat. I love to talk with people whenever I'm having a coffee. The other day my mechanic called me on the phone to tell me what's wrong with my car. After we'd finished talking, I said to the lady next to me , "transmission problems." Well that was the start of a 1 hour conversation. We talked about everything from cars to health. I eventually had to cut the conversation short as I had to finish my shopping otherwise, we could have been there for another hour or so.
 
Beezer said:
...for my daughters to finish shopping.

This old gentleman with a cane walks through the Mall sliding doors and sits down beside me and tells me his life story.

He was amazing! 37 years with the RCMP force. He was in charge of protecting our Prime Ministers and was in charge of a security detail and had hundreds of men and women under his wing. He was 94 years old. I loved every minute of our chat until the girls showed up.

Then my daughter started crying thinking it was sweet that I had talked to this old retired Police Officer.

I dunno man, I was just born with that face or something. People just come up to me all of the time for some reason or another. But it sure was a treat talking to this older senior...made my day! :)

I told him for a joke when I answer my phone in public I say, "Yes Mr. Trudeau!" People around me always giggle at that. To which he replies, "Oh, I've got Justin's phone number on my phone."

Awesomeness!
Click to expand...
Everyone has their story. Some have amazing lives. But age and years catch up and the aged become invisible.
 
I've always loved talking to strangers, some of the best are seatmates on long flights, one woman had been an actress in the 1940's and another was a red cross worker in Africa.

My most enthralling was an old woman I met at the Pentagon while we waited for our bus connections. I was having a cigarette and she told me that because she was very small and didn't smoke she had survived the concentration camps in Germany. She hadn't needed much food and she had the two cigarettes a day ration to trade.
 

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