Just in case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE to talk!!! I also NEVER meet a stranger. So, almost daily I make a new friend!!! The restaurant where I eat my lunch almost every day has really good home-cooked food & also has a large clientele many of who are older & can no longer cook for themselves. Their children have all but abandoned them & many are just plain lonely. When I see that they’ve come in to eat more than once, I speak to them as they come or go. After a few days, they begin to stop at my table for a quick chat. That quick chat usually turns into them sitting down with me & we have a REAL conversation about anything they feel the need to discuss. We eventually share phone numbers & we also become phone friends.When they tell me about all their aches & pains, I don’t roll my eyes like their children do & I often have some insight into what they have & offer some suggestions as some Q’s to ask their doctor. I’ve been there to comfort them when their spouse passes on & I get them out of the house to go to the grocery store or a local big box store so they don’t have to go alone. We all grew up hearing that there is “safety in numbers” & they feel safer with a friend by their side.
This also helps to fill my time & helps me to feel as though I’m serving a useful purpose & I have a reason to get out of the house more often. You’re correct when you say the art of conversation is gradually being lost!!! It drives me insane when I hear a pretty young girl talking about her date on Saturday night only to discover that she’s chatting with some guy that she’s NEVER met who doesn’t even live in the same country & she’s worried about being faithful to a guy she doesn’t really know!!!