listening skills

there's something nice about the city bus. maybe i'm too young and naive to understand how annoying it is, yet, but on a rainy day in New York like this one, i enjoy taking the M21. people-watching being one of my favorite hobbies, i like how people are forced to interact on the bus. i'm always friendly to the bus driver and whoever wants to strike up a conversation. the isolating nature of the city, ipod headphones in ears, determined fast-paced walking... it's nice to see people take off their attitudes once in a while.

i was sitting at a bus stop on Houston and 6th Ave in May and decided to just start talking to the older woman sitting next to me. she had a "happy mother's day!" gift bag resting next to her so I asked if it was for her mother or from one of her kids. this woman must have been over 60, so maybe I was just flattering her, but i truly enjoy talking to older people. she reminded me a lot of Lottie, my 70 year old nanny. i find most people my age take seniors for granted, consider them senile, or just don't care to listen for too long. i never really understood what the hurry was. seniors are like little vaults of history and storytelling. i can't think of something much better than that to listen to.

the same is true of people who aren't from this country. i locked myself out of my bedroom, stupidly, last night and ended up having to call a locksmith. the guy wasn't much older than i am but he was Israeli, a people i rarely get a chance to talk to. we had a fantastic conversation about education, history, and travel as he drilled my door open and replaced the knob. it made me less stressed about the eventual bill and my own embarassment.

i've always enjoyed talking about myself but more and more all i really want to do is listen to people. perhaps in a past life i was a WPA interviewer.