Nosiness of Strangers

I saw a lot of strangers today. And though I didn't need their help, many of them tried to help me. Lenny said it has something to do with my perma-confused face. She has a perma-nervous face. It's the eyebrows we were born with, people! What're we supposed to do about it?

Earlier this evening, four fighter jets opening the division series fly over head and rudely disrupted my conversation with Lenny, so I said stupidly, "Well, that was loud. I hope the folks at Fenway are OK." The comment somehow led a passerby to decide that a. it was OK to stop and talk to us and that b. I was confused/made anxious by the sight of fighter jets. "Those planes are just for the Sox game tonight," he explained uselessly. Thank you, kind sir, is that why they're at Fenway?

Then in the MFA, a guard stopped me to give me directions to the coat check as I was walking toward it to check my bags, prompting Lenny to remark, "you're just full of awkward encounters today, aren't you?" But the day's business wasn't over yet. Standing harmless in the middle of a gallery, talking amongst ourselves and discussing what it would've been like had we met at the Winslow exhibit we saw many years ago, Lenny and I were approached by an old lady. She asked if we were looking for the drawing class. No, woman, we're admiring the paintings. And that's why we're standing in front of them. And pointing.

Is northern iciness dead? Am I wearing a sign that says "come white saviors, I'm helpless"? Why can't people leave me alone?

In a slightly opposite vein, caught a later train to usual tonight (with a brief detour at Mac's) and happened to sit next to a man I had nicknamed "black man with yellow duffel from the 7:16 train"- one of many people I recognize from my daily commute. Tonight, we nodded in recognition of each other, said hi, and left each other alone for most of the ride. Then, as the train was finally pulling close to the stop, we made small talk about long days and where we worked and where we lived. No unsolicited offers to help, no uninvited thoughts on the weather-we stuck very close to mutual ground, and that is how you talk to strangers, people.