Talking to strangers

 

Parents tell kids not to talk to strangers, including mine BUT they did not follow their own advice.

I would wait somewhat patiently while they chatted away. 

"Who was that?" I asked after we were alone.

They would shrug. "I don't know, but weren't they interesting?"

This past weekend we were in Garmisch, Germany, We passed this fascinating shop which seemed to be a combination of costume and antiques.

"Maybe you can find a hat there." My husband was playing in a hickory golf tournament which would be followed by a gala. People dressed like it was the 1920s. I had a dress, but I'd left my hat at home.

 

The woman, who owned the shop called Gabriella's, spotted Sherlock before she saw us. The last few days our pup had been a hit in Garmisch. Strangers came up to ask about him, to pat him and to take his photograph. A waitress in a restaurant made sure he had something to eat. Too many people to count passed him slowly, smiling.

Her Sherlock adoration led into a long, long conversation that covered language, animals, lifestyle, travel a bit of our individual histories. 

"You must have some champagne," she said when she discovered it was our 9th anniversary and made us bellinis, served in gold-rimmed, etched glasses. Sherlock was offered more doggie biscuits and she showed us a photo of her late dog, whom she called the real manager of her shop.

I'd found a hat that would go perfectly with my dress. She refused to let us pay for it no matter how we tried to persuade her.

The transaction probably took close to an hour most of it after her closing time. 

Like my parents before me, I've discovered when you begin talking to strangers by the time the conversation ends they are strangers no more.