Novel Addictions

I was in my “zone” a couple of weeks ago while waiting (again) for a bus to come. As I stood there freezing my rear end off (the wind was blowing something fierce), an elderly lady stopped to ask me about the McDonald’s across the street in a European accent. She said that she often needs to meet someone to pick her up and wanted a safe place to wait. I gave her an answer to her satisfaction (“Yes, the restaurant is open late.”) and thought the conversation was over.

After staying quiet for a moment, I asked her if her accent was French. She said that it was, and we proceeded to talk until long after the bus picked us up. As it turns out, she has lived in the U.S. for many years and became a citizen long ago. But she encouraged me to continue to pursue my French language skills and explained to me how she learned English many years ago.

I normally would not have pursued a conversation with a stranger. Rather, I would have turned my iPod back on and ignored everything else around me. But I ended up having a delightful conversation with an elderly person because I took the time to listen. I’m a bit of a francophile, so that piqued my interest from the beginning–but it wasn’t what kept me intrigued. The woman reminded me of my grandmother, and we can learn so much from our grandparents.

I don’t believe our generation or younger generations, for that matter, appreciate the wisdom that age can bring. I’m certainly guilty of it. But if you have a moment, stop and listen. You might find yourself drawn into a lovely conversation you won’t soon forget.