I was at the store this morning picking up some “stuff” and the aisles were full of elderly men shopping for extra goodies as their budget allowed. I’m sure they were bused from some senior living residence and were enjoying an outing. I started looking at their faces, aged and wrinkled, shuffling steps, and inquisitive eyes. This morning I thought about their story.
Who they were, where they come from, what was their his”story”…
It is my habit to ask everyone, “What neck of the woods do you come from?” Are you local? What’s your history? It’s one of the opened ended questions of conversational inquisitiveness that allows for story time!
A local journalist, Eric Johnson, is always looking for stories to share in his weekly “heroes” segment. He first began broadcasting kid stories tied around his sports broadcaster job, but when he became the anchor he started looking for adult heroes with compelling stories. He has found gold that can stir the heart.
This morning, one gentleman had a T-shirt that proclaimed Houston, Texas and since I have roots in that “neck of the woods” I asked him about it. His daughter had qualified for the Olympic marathon and he joined her in Houston for one of the trials a few years ago. Wow! An Olympian’s father!
Everyone has a story that may or may not ever get shared. So. I have a habit of stopping and talking with strangers. Conversations that may lead nowhere, but who knows what magic they have to share?
Although I did not have time to ask all these gentlemen, I wonder. What is your story? What would you share if someone took half an interest and asked you a question… I have an uncle who passed a few years ago that was up island from Pearl on December 7th, 1941. He was not involved during the attack but they could see it from afar…
Just curious… What’s your story? Would you like to share?