Have you ever been waiting in a doctor's office or someplace similar and have a complete stranger come up to you and start up a conversation? You begin talking to them and before you know it they are telling you their complete life story?
I used to get that all the time. I asked a friend of mine once if I had the name Dear Abby written somewhere on my forehead. Now, I don't mind listening to folks talk about their problems. I am always ready to lend an ear and if I can help them in any way by offering my support, then it makes me happy. However, I've always wondered why people did that. I didn't understand how they could open up to a complete stranger the way they did.
But for some still-unexplained reason, a few months ago I found myself doing the exact same thing. I was at my lawyer's office waiting for the receptionist to finish up with some papers I needed to sign when a pleasant looking gentleman came in and sat down in my seat. I had just vacated the chair to get a magazine from the rack.
My purse was sitting beside his foot and it was open. (The purse, not his foot) I was almost too embarrassed to let him know that the purse was mine. The thing looked like I was packed and ready to go on a week long trip to Camp Witchi Gumie. There were papers sticking out the top, a camera, ink pens, my check book, two note pads, car keys, cell phone, wallet, cigarettes and even a baggie full of Milk Bones that I keep in there for the dogs I might happen to meet. (don't even ask).
I reached for the purse and he apologized and offered to move to another seat. For some odd reason I felt the need to explain the messy purse, my reason for being at the lawyer's office, where I worked, what my dog's name was, my medical history, my age, weight, rank and serial number. I kept thinking to myself, "shut-up-you-idiot!", but I couldn't stop talking. I told him about my mother passing away a few weeks earlier and that my sister and I were trying to get all her affairs in order. I told him that I worked for the newspaper and that I feared I was going to be late for a meeting I had to cover. All the while he sat there smiling a pleasant smile and nodding his head.
Finally, after I wound down a little bit, he told me that he had just dropped by the office for a social visit as he was MY ATTORNEY'S FORMER LAW PROFESSOR!
Arrrgh! Not only had I made a complete idiot of myself, I had managed to do it in front of a college professor! A professor of LAW of all things.
I still to this day do not know why I did that. Maybe I was stressed, or maybe my blood sugar was low, maybe it was too much caffeine, or maybe Law Professors just have ways of making people talk!
Whatever the reason, I now make it a point to never talk to strangers. And if that certain Professor of Law happens to be reading this, there's one thing I forgot to tell you. I know what it looked like and I know what you thought, but honestly, those Milk Bones were not my lunch!
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