Last night I went to an open mic night downtown. I stepped outside for a smoke and an older man with a white beard approached.
It was one of those conversations that you hope you’ll always remember.
We talked about music- Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. “Bring it back to the basics,” he told me.
I’ve talked to lots and lots of people outside of this cafe. My guard is always up against what I like to call “creepers.”
Something about this guy didn’t strike me that way though…
He told me, “I don’t know what it is lately… I’ve just been waking up every morning and loving everybody.”
“Yeah?
“Yeah.” He takes a drag of his cigarette. “I’m not going to try to understand everyone, but… my heart is just full of such… such love for them. You know?”
“Yeah, I do. The world could use more people like you.”
Silence.
“Where do you think that love comes from?” I ask, curious if I’m going to hear the pitch for Christianity next, if he’s going to pull out the conveniently placed religious tract and invite me to his church.
“Honestly? Between you and me?” He trails off for a moment. “I think it’s from God.”
He gauges my reaction.
“I just… I look around at all these people,” he gazes across the street where dozens of high schoolers are hanging out, “and I see a generation that is so lost. I have my bad habits too,” he says, glancing at his cigarette, “but… ” he trails off again with his head down. As he looks up, I see tears in his eyes. He looks at me and apologizes. “I just pray for them. I care about them; I really do.”
We talk about a few other things. He advises me to get more into nature. I smile and say I will. Little does he know how passionate I am about nature.
He was legit. He was passionate. Maybe he was lonely. I really don’t know.
But something about what he said… and how he said it… it gave me a lot of hope.
Learning to Live 
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
May 20, 2010 at 3:30 pm
83October
Such conversations shouldn’t be forgotten. I like how simple and profound his statement were. Your narration allows us to feel that he was indeed legit.
I struggle over this concept of waking up and just loving everybody. It’s not an easy task, but it is what we all need. I’ve recently finished this book and one of the things that struck me in the book is the desire of people to be seen for who they are and not for the assumptions. By being seen, they want to be talked to like human beings not as their labels. I suppose if this was to be said in one word its love. We just want that and maybe if it was given us we’ll all be less lost.
Sorry, I’m just throwing random thoughts.
May 21, 2010 at 3:39 pm
learning2live2010
No, I think I know what you mean. Working with kids I have often thought about how I love all of them so much… even the ones that drive me crazy, even the ones that are so naughty and even the ones that are mean to the other kids.. and I think to myself about all the people that I just really don’t like and I remember how at one time they were just kids. Sometimes I look at strangers on the street- especially the older ones- and I think about how many experiences and memories they have. And sometimes I am just blown away by the how easy it is to dehumanize most people I come into contact with and forget that each and every person is a real.. person, with hopes and dreams, memories and regrets… it just makes me love everyone a little more.
May 21, 2010 at 3:34 am
Lua
“I don’t know what it is lately… I’ve just been waking up every morning and loving everybody.”
I just wish that when I’m older, I will be able to wake up every morning and say this… I’ve never met the man, but from the way you told us the story, Bob gave me a lot of hope too…
May 21, 2010 at 3:50 am
dedalus9
You’re a good storyteller.
May 21, 2010 at 4:31 am
Alisha
I love when I run into people like that. Unfortunately, it’s too rare. It’s also one reason I never watch the news. It’s just always so heartbreaking or maddening, that I can’t stand it. And it almost brings me to the point of tears.
If only there were more ppl like him who shared those kinds of things with random strangers…then maybe we’d all be a little more humane.
May 21, 2010 at 3:41 pm
learning2live2010
Agreed. Above I commented on 83October’s comment and talked about the.. humanity that is so easy to take away from people.
And I definitely agree with you about the news.
May 22, 2010 at 1:33 am
unabridgedgirl
I love when I meet people like this, who are so genuine. I am glad you were able to meet him, and thanks for sharing this conversation. 🙂