Not chat room strangers, real ones. Strangers on the
street. On the subway. In the diner.
We’ve been told that the art of conversation is dead. Not
even close. The art of conversation is alive and well. It’s just that your
friends are boring, and your relatives have ulterior motives.
Let’s rewind that for a moment. Your friends aren’t
necessarily boring. But you know their raps and they know yours. It’s like
having the same conversation over and over again.
And your relatives -- well, maybe they DON’T have ulterior
motives. But you know that there are certain things you can’t discuss with
them, lest you raise points that’ll never be solved and that will just cause
everyone grief.
So do this New York thing: horn in on a convo. If you’re
REALLY not welcome, you’ll find out soon enough. The conversers whose territory
you’ll be invading will give you the Dark Glare Of Death. Or they’ll just tell
you to shove off.
Most people are too polite for that.
Plus, we humans are social beings, even most of the
sociopaths among us, and thus are willing to talk with anyone about anything.
Just don’t be like the Oysters in “Alice in Wonderland.”
They tried to stop a fight between the Walrus and the Carpenter and ended up becoming
dinner after the combatants resumed rationality.
Other than that, there’s all kinds of fun and interesting
stuff that can happen among people who don’t know each other and assume they
will never again meet.
The other day at a restaurant, Iron Grey Joe was waxing
poetic about a politician. In the midst of his poetic endorsement, he said
something outrageously untrue. So, he got corrected.
The conversation then doubled to include two tables of
diners instead of one.
It would have been nice to continue. But Iron Grey Joe and
his poetic wax suffered a seizure or stroke or heart palpitation, and attention
was turned suddenly and permanently to getting the cops and the ambulance on
site and Joe to the hospital.
This is not a typical end to one of these
horn-in-on-the-conversation conversations. Usually, you end up learning
something and teaching something.
The opportunities for good talk, good learning and good
teaching are endless, especially if there’s no ulterior motive.
If one of these happens at a pick up bar, it will be less
spontaneous and more stilted than if it happens while waiting for the light to
turn green.
We, remember, are as boring and same-subject as our
friends and as touchy as our relatives. The way to have a fresh start every day
is to … well, start fresh every day. Or every other day. Or even every week.
The art of conversation is not dead. It’s just sick and
lacks health insurance.
I'm Wes Richards. My opinions are my own, but you're welcome
to them.™ Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com (C) WR 2021
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