How to Win Friends and Influence People

Now I don't know about most people, but I find approaching and speaking to strangers an intimidating task. Not so much Patricia, she has the uncanny ability to say "hi" to practically anyone, ask them a couple of questions, and the next thing you know, she's hearing a completely unedited life story. I can say after 10 years of watching this, that Trish usually brings out the best in people during these conversations and I have yet to see anyone leave without a smile on their face and a cool story to tell people when they get home. We've also ended up driving quite a few people home since the majority of the time the people we meet are at bars or restaurants where a drink or 7 may be involved. I must admit, I admire the level of courage and empathy it takes to approach somebody and to let them know that there are people out there who care and want to know what happens to someone outside their immediate circle of acquaintances. As I remember, I'm going to catalog a few of the folks we've met over the years and share what I can remember about their stories.

So, last night we were at Merchant and Main for Taco Tuesday (Highly Recommended), and encountered Mac, as pictured above. When we first came in he was hanging out with a friend over a few beers, after a while, his friend left and Trish took the opportunity to strike up a conversation. This is what we learned. Mac is a 79 year old Navy veteran, and retired steel worker who looks like he could probably kick my ass without breaking a sweat. It seems everyone at the restaurant knows and likes him. He's a proud father of five children and has 27 assorted Grand and Great-Grand children, and was married for 53 years before his fiery redhead of a wife passed three years ago. He still grieves over her and probably will for the rest of his life, but he keeps things upbeat and shows up for his kids in ways they need. He has an adult grand daughter that lives with him who called to check in every hour or so while we talked, and he has a genuine belief in God and the Bible. He also has a strong belief that the world is going to change, although for better or worse he wouldn't say (Depends on for who I think), and proudly showed us pictures of him and his wife from when they were first married on his old flip phone (Side note, he looked like he could bench press trucks back in the day). We were able to talk to him for a few hours before it began to get dark and he walked home, and it was awesome to hear from someone who truly loved his partner, had faith in his savior, and was willing to laugh at all the crazy things life throws at us. At the end of the conversation, Trish just had to give him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, let him know that things were ok before he left.

To Mac I say, thank you for your service, thank you for showing that a marriage can last, and thank you for accepting Trish's invitation to a chat so that we could learn a little bit about you.