“One of the joys of travel.
is visiting new towns.
and meeting new people.”
~ Genghis Khan

From my earliest days, I’ve always enjoyed meeting people, talking with them, and, when the opportunity presents itself, becoming friends with them. I guess that’s why, when I was around ten years old, one of my neighbors in San Francisco began calling me The Ambassador of 38th Avenue. Yes, that’s the title of one of my books!

I get energized by meeting new people. For this reason, I’ve always enjoyed starting a new job, moving into a new neighborhood, taking a class, teaching a class, and attending social events where I know few, if any, people. It’s amazing how little time it takes to make a connection with someone I meet for the first time. Having grown up in San Francisco, it’s difficult for me to meet another native San Franciscan and not have mutual friends or similar experiences to share. 

When I was in Nassau in March, I saw a man and his wife trying to take selfies near the Nassau harbor. As I often do when I’m in The City, I asked the man if he would like me to take a photo of them with their camera. He gratefully accepted my offer. This led to a conversation in which we realized that we were both retired high school teachers. He was originally from Ecuador. His wife was originally from Honduras. They had been living in Canada for more than thirty years and were visiting Nassau on one of the cruise ships. We had an enriching conversation touching on many topics before they headed back to their ship, which was departing that afternoon. 

Through the wonders of Facebook, I recently met a gentleman with whom I have much in common. We have only one mutual Facebook friend, and when he saw a comment I’d made on her page, he took a look at my page and realized that our interests and experiences are quite similar, so he sent a friend request. Kathy and I enjoyed dinner in Japantown in San José with him and his wife last night. This reminded me of how much I truly enjoy meeting new people.

Kathy and I met my siblings in San Francisco this evening for dinner at Beach Chalet Restaurant, across the street from Ocean Beach. Kathy and I got there a bit early, as did my brother, Tom. We found a vacant table in the bar area, so I walked up to the bar to order a glass of wine for Kathy and a drink for Tom. While waiting for the drinks, I got into a conversation with two young women visiting San Francisco from Verona, Italy. They were delightful, and I thoroughly enjoyed our brief conversation. They visited Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and one of the national parks prior to arriving in San Francisco. They’re planning to visit Chicago. Miami, and New York City before returning home to Verona. Talking with them was like talking with people I’ve known for many years. It was such an easy conversation, and so enjoyable. How sad that there’s a good chance that I’ll never see them again.

Meeting people can be like that. A conversation begins, information is shared, a connection is made, and all too often, they never see each other again after that. I think it’s important to acknowledge that such conversations are not a waste of time. My life was enriched tonight by meeting the two travelers from Italy. I can only hope that their lives were enriched, as well.