The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
The City of Strangers
He had this voice so deep it rumbled along the back beams of the bench we were sharing. I arrived very early for an appointment and thought I should sit outside for a while, waiting to get closer to a fitting arrival time. My hyper-punctuality made me a keen observer of outdoor benches and resting places. I sat alone and scrawled in my notebook as usual, making myself at home. The giant man arrived a few minutes later.
Chatting on his cell phone, fussing with his chest hair, he gazed at me before taking the far side of the seat. He spoke a language I didn’t understand–but since this was one of my first days in Austria, it may have been the German I had been studying for years. I didn’t yet feel brave enough to attempt to eavesdrop for practice.
He shifted his pointed shoes while the bench shuddered under his booming chit-chat. Though I’d always been warned not to talk to strangers, I knew only one person in the city. So I was parked in the center of ceaseless strangers. And I felt delighted to have such a guest joining me, sitting nearby, waiting to be painted, welcoming me to my new home where I would find so many new people to steal.
–Vienna, Austria.
The German word for “Cheers,” surrounded by many things American. Kansas.
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
OK – it has to be : PROST, but it works for sure… 🙂
Have a nice Easter -Time with your family
Liebe Grüße,
Maccabros
Warte mal. Geht nicht so? Is the umlaut over the O a problem? Ich habe nie geschrieben. 🙂
Happy Easter to you as well, my friend.
Lg,
Paige
Its not a problem – but we speak it with an real O… 🙂
Thanks for your german words
Maccabros
I’m looking forward to hearing about those characters you ‘steal’. You are so good at it I feel I was sitting on the bench too!
Thank you! I actually wrote much of this story over 5 years ago. I still find myself looking for places where I am surrounded by strangers. 🙂
Paige
Surely not ‘steal’, Paige – maybe … umm … use ? 🙂
🙂 Agreed, it’s never good to admit to stealing, though use doesn’t sound too much better. How around record for posterity?
Paige
How about ‘draw’ ?
Or ‘paint’ ? Or ‘depict’ ?
Draw and paint would be great if I weren’t known for my stick-figures. 🙂
Record?
YES ! – record. That’s it, Paige !
Excellent! I will continue the recordings.