I’m sure you’ve been seeing and hearing all of the Thanksgiving/‘What I’m Thankful For’ posts and conversations for days. This time of year some of us reflect on our blessings. It’s a good practice to keep. I think everyone should do it. Since the inception of The Stranger I Met Today, I’ve become conditioned to seek knowledge and pluck lessons from the strangers I meet. I don’t know that I’m able to turn it off now. For that, I am thankful.
I’ve been busy meeting strangers, but posts have been few and far between in recent weeks. Here’s a summary of the top five lessons I’ve recently learned. No worries - I’ll get back to my regular weekly post next week.
Who: Man with four kids at an event
Find out what's happening in West Deptfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What Happened: The man grabbed some promotional items that contained an anti-tobacco message, corralled his four kids (all under the age of 10) who were busy pointing at the event superhero Iron Man, and said in my general direction, “C’mon kids, let’s go grab a smoke.” He was completely kidding and I laughed out loud.
Lesson Learned: The best kind of laugh is the kind that takes you surprise.
Find out what's happening in West Deptfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Who: Little boy and his big ‘sister’ in midtown Philadelphia
What Happened: The boy, probably around 10 years old, approached me and a group of friends and asked if we wanted to buy a rose from him so he could have some money to buy himself a birthday present. It was after 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. He started to tell us that his birthday was in October, but then said August and couldn’t remember the date. The woman with him was probably not his sister. The whole situation was not good.
Lesson Learned: Bad things – people and situations – are everywhere. It’s not something that’s safely contained inside our televisions during news broadcasts. I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t know what I could have done.
Who: Stu Tinker of SK Tours of Maine
What happened: My friend Kate and I went on a Stephen King tour out of Bangor, Maine. Stu was an excellent tour guide. We learned so much about Stephen King’s books and how many of his stories are inspired by people in and around Bangor. We even learned that the Hunger Games trilogy was influenced by Stephen King. But, the most impressive thing that we learned was about how much Stephen King and his wife Tabitha have given back to the community.
Lesson Learned: Stephen and Tabitha are amazing humanitarians who know the real value of community.
Who: John Ford and the other members of the Belfast Think Tank
What happened: I had the pleasure of meeting John Ford, author of Suddenly the Cider Didn’t Taste So Good: Adventures of a Game Warden in Maine, and six other (retired to semi-retired) gentlemen of Maine at their daily coffee shop meeting. There was no topic that was off-limits, the conversation was fantastic, and I was grateful for the company of the entire Think Tank that blustery Maine morning.
Lesson Learned: I would’ve missed out on two hilarious hours had I not simply said hello. Don’t miss out on. Say hello.
Who: A short order cook in a Maine
What happened: I ordered the seven napkin burger, a specialty at the Owl’s Head General Store. I was assured by the cook that I would love the burger. It was good, but I only ended up using four napkins out of true necessity. I wanted to genuine experience, so I made myself use three more napkins that I didn’t really need.
Lesson Learned: The pursuit for a genuine experience sometimes makes us do silly things.
I’m thankful for each day and for what I learn from everyone around me. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
