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A conversation at a bus stop in Portland that I still think about
It was a Tuesday night in downtown Portland. Cold and wet. This older guy sat down next to me, offered me half his bag of chips. He started talking about his dad passing 10 years ago. Said the last thing he told him was that he was proud of him for fixing the porch railing. He said he still thinks about that one specific sentence every single day. Made me call my own mom the next morning. Has anyone else had a random stranger drop a memory on them that just stuck?
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the_jake1mo ago
Oh man, that story hits close to home. I had something similar happen at a laundromat in Boise a few years back. This woman probably in her 70s just started talking about how her husband used to fold her socks a certain way and she never realized how much she'd miss that small thing after he passed. We ended up talking for almost two hours about little habits people leave behind. Called my wife that night just to tell her I appreciate the way she leaves the coffee maker ready for me in the morning. Funny how a complete stranger can remind you of what actually matters when you're just sitting there waiting for your clothes to dry.
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wadew511mo ago
Yeah, gotta be honest, I've been there. If something like that hits you, take a minute to really sit with it instead of just calling to say it, or you'll forget before the spin cycle's done.
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spencer_owens581mo ago
That's sweet and all but man, sometimes I think we overthink these random encounters. You sat in a laundromat for two hours with a stranger and then called your wife all emotional about coffee. I mean, it's just coffee, right? Not every little thing has to be some deep reminder about life and death, sometimes people just talk your ear off while your clothes dry.
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