I have to wonder that perhaps one day talking to strangers will all but cease as we teach our children that under no circumstances talk to a stranger. This is wise, but at the same time denies the child a wealth of new information from the interaction with a stranger. However, we can never be too careful when it comes to our children, so if it saves us from a very unpleasant experience by using caution, then this is how we must act.

Today's generation of children as well as the next will not doubt grow up with the mindset that talking to strangers isn't the right thing to do. We get a lot of feedback about others via news media and any of the programs relative to giving insight as to what others are all about, but it's the real "one on one" interaction with a stranger that we can learn or benefit from the exchange.

I've found that if no one breaks the silence in any particular situation whereas there are several people together in close proximity such as a small waiting room or an elevator, or just wherever it may be, but the bottom line is... there is dead silence because no one bothered to crack some kind of remark that might give rise to some interaction among those present.

At some point or another, most shy individuals can reverse their way of interacting with others, and actually develop a comfortable feeling about opening up to strangers. I was one of those who just didn't know what to say or how to say it, and felt uncomfortable if someone struck up a conversation with me that I didn't know.

But it wasn't until later on in life that I was able to reverse that feeling of intimidation and instead, replace it with confidence. It's a great feeling to have a total stranger react to an attempt to break silence whereas one comes away feeling like they made a friend even if it were just for that moment.

Just recently a situation came up whereas I was in a waiting area, and this big burly guy with huge arms and tattoos was snarling to himself at the TV showing President Bush giving an update about Iraq.
I felt like I wanted to distance myself pronto, but instead I did a funny using George's voice to give him something to laugh about since it was so obvious he couldn't stand the president.

Well, it did turn out great, and I did several more impressions of those who would normally interact with the President, and as it turned out, this totally opposite type of personality from me actually turned out to be a unique friendship.

I love telling jokes and doing impressions as they are very easy to do for me, and from what feedback I get, I am pretty dead on with them, so I use it to my advantage for striking up some kind of interaction.

Bottom line for me personally is that I've gained a lot of acquaintances that any one of them could develop into some kind of a nice friendship, but unfortunately there just isn't enough time. But it's nice knowing that there are many people out there who were once strangers, but no longer are, and you never know when any one of them may be a ticket to a better life because they shared something with you that changed theirs.

Learn more about this author, Richard Serra.
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