Encounters with strangers
I have one of those faces. One of those faces that makes people want to talk. It’s happened more in recent years. I think the knitting facilitates it. It’s an icebreaker, something they can talk about, and often it’s an emotional trigger.
There’s the lady who sits next to me in a bookstore and tells me how frightened she was the previous night when her young daughter’s temperature shot up to 104. That conversation started with her asking what I was making.
There’s the recovering drug addict who shares his family history, which includes high-ranking players in the South Carolina government. He started out talking about his grandmother, who used to crochet baby blankets.
There’s the older gentleman today who tells me about his wife, who passed on a while back. She had diabetes and didn’t control it well, mainly by eating salty junk food and drinking alcohol while her friends were over for cards. That started out with him sharing what a good seamstress his wife was.
These people really open up. The bookstore woman talked about her husband and how he just didn’t get it sometimes. The recovering addict talked a lot about his grown son and the worries he had, and all the regrets for bad choices in his life. The older gentleman says with good spirits that “It’s just me and the Lord now.” He keeps busy going to church, and also shooting pool and playing spades.
Fortunately, I like listening to these people. One of our knitters brought her father along to knit night and went to do a little grocery shopping. Many other folks in the group continued their conversations, but I got to hear this guy’s story. He was part of the crew for the Tuskeegee Airmen, so it was quite a treat.
Some folks say that they meet the most interesting people knitting, but I think they usually mean that they meet other knitters. I often feel like I’m part of the exposition of a detective story. Luckily, it’s a story with a really compelling plot.
Do strangers talk to you? Share, won’t you?