We live in a world that teaches us from the beginning not to talk to strangers, and it’s not shocking that when we get older we have trust issues with our fellow humans.  I am usually skeptical of every other person around me and hope they won’t try to rob or sexually assault me (that might be the scared little small-town girl inside of me).  Then there are the times where you let your guard down, and some jerk store takes advantage of you – that’s right, you know who you are car fixer guy in Woonsocket, RI.  On the flip side, I find it hard to trust the people I work with on a daily basis.  It seems like everyone has some sort of anti-you agenda, and this planet is every man for his/herself. 

That is why when I boarded my plane last night from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas I had every intention of sitting down, writing a superb LA article I had promised to Dan (hadn’t a clue what to write) and not talking to any strangers.  Enter: adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman.  She started talking to me about how she was a little nervous about flying.  It seemed harmless enough, so I chatted to her about pretty surface level topics (weather, flying, why we were both in town, etc).  After all, I couldn’t start my article during taxiing anyways, right?

Well, I spent the entire flight engaged in non-alcohol-induced conversation with this woman!  It was fascinating to me how INCREDIBLY open you can be with a complete stranger.  She was in her mid-thirties, recently divorced, recently began reinventing herself and had two sons.  She gave me a lot of frank, good advice about marriage and your twenties.  Divorce is something that terrifies me to my core, and she answered all of my questions.  I told her about myself, and it was delightful to get opinions from someone who doesn’t have a vested interest in my life.  There were no awkward tensions or political agendas (ah work drama) – just straight up here is how I see it.  I got off that plane feeling like I had just spoken with a breath of fresh air. 

I’m not suggesting that everyone should talk to everyone, but I am suggesting that once in a while it is extremely refreshing to have a positive encounter with a complete stranger.  It is nice to know that there are still genuinely good and friendly people out there from whom you might even learn something.  I’d like to give a big tip of my hat to the adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman onboard the 5:40pm flight from FLL to DFW for a great conversation.