Author Archives: thenicethingaboutstrangers

About thenicethingaboutstrangers

My blog has stories from four (going on five) years of travel on the lovely, beautiful, awkward, breathtakingly human things one can discover in strangers.

The Shared Eyebrow and the Runaway Tablet

Reblogged from The Nice Thing About Strangers: He has a blue jogging suit and winter coat, she wears leggings as pants with a ski jacket. They stand close while waiting for the plane. She tries to hand him his own … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

Do You Hello?

Friendliness is my nature. This is such a deep instinct that I’m always the one saying hello when I pass people in public. In Vienna, when you say hello to strangers, sometimes they cross the street. In Istanbul, sometimes they … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Happiness, Inspiration, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Mr. Independent

A little boy in a blue t-shirt acts tough, strong, fearless. He clutches a toy truck low at his side and eyes the passengers on the train. His father sees a friend near the front of the car, and moves … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Europe, Happiness, Inspiration, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Road Trip. Colorado, Kansas, and Who We Are

…we’re not born with unlimited choices. We can’t be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, personal destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Happiness, Literature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The March. Guest post by #theRedondoBeachDude.

On an early Friday morning three tiny travelers make their way to school. Passing shining blades of grass, the trio giggles and smiles with the brightness of the day. Hand in hand, step by little step, they proudly display backpacks … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Fitness, Happiness, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Have a Nice Trip

Reblogged from The Nice Thing About Strangers: I stumbled over a dip in the sidewalk, tumbled over my own black boots in the peripheral glance of a polite Turkish man in a Captain’s hat. He didn’t want to look, but … Continue reading

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

Step Dois, Três. Turn Dois, Três

The folk dancers gather, circle out, promenade, move to the music. A man in a brown hat calls out directions, and the audience whispers, “Is that English?” The Portuguese folk dancers are performing for a mother-daughter tea party in the … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Happiness, Inspiration, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Possibility

My new niece is two weeks old. This brings my total to two nieces. Naturally, I know that Addy, Savannah, and I will certainly be traveling like mad–once they can get passports. This weekend I watched elderly people’s faces light … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Happiness, Literature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Older and Wiser (and Eating Cake!)

The treadmills hum quietly and the pair of ladies speak loudly. Their grey hair bounces, they swing their elbows. When one says, “All right, here we go,” they turn up the speed just a pinch, and clasp onto the frame … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Fitness, Mischief, Observed, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

A Love Story At Just Over Five Feet

The elderly couple hunches together over their soup. They stay like this, heads tilted toward each other, even as they finish. The waiter reaches under the bridge of their gaze to withdraw their bowls. They only see each other. The … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Europe, Happiness, Inspiration, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments