Close encounters of the real kind
by Bob on December 19, 2007
Close encounters of the real kind, as opposed to the e-kind are worth contrasting.
I was in downtown Boston this afternoon standing in front of the T-station just waiting for someone who was running late. A few people passed by who I knew and said hello. It was kind of a nice day, despite the frozen snow and slush still on the ground from a few days ago.
Along came someone I didn't know, who was a wonderfully pretty young lady. She came up to me and asked if I had a lighter to light her cigarette. I fidgetted in my backback and found one and lit her cigarette. We started conversing. She was Korean and taking a course at Harvard and is an studying fine art. It was such a wonderful experience to see her eyes light up and tell me about her adventure in a small store in Chinatown where the proprietess was so impressed with her kindness and beauty that she wanted her to have a date with her son who she hadn't met yet. We talked about the "Beat Generation" and the especially the work of Jack Kerouac and his refective poetry after his great book "On the Road". We also talked of society and its mores and nuances and about New York and Boston. It was brilliantly fascinating as was she. And beautiful and kind as well. She told me about Korea where she is from originally and how nice it was that her father was a farmer and she especially liked to once in a while visit home and the simple life after big cities in America.
We had a great time talking and enjoying each other's company.
And we had never met before. But we met on the streets of Boston, all for the use of my lighter.
We didn't meet on MySpace or any social interaction network. And I again realised how very empty meeting online is if you've never met the person in real life. And all the problems that entails and heartaches that ensue.
This was different. There was no doubt who we were, save for remotely possiblebut unworthy Existential and Solipsistic philosophical questions. We were quite happy to be conversing face-to-face and enjoying each other's company.
We hugged at the end of our conversation. It was nice.
I had just been reading a book earlier that day wherein the author wrote that MySpace and online social networking systems are the ultimate role playing game in the world. And I would agree with that in the main.
I like people in person. Even if they do play a role as Shakespeare said in his play "As You Like It", and that all the world is a stage, I still really like people in person as the very best kind of human warmth.
And she had a great smile too. It made my day. And kept me a little further away from computers except for necessary work. Excellent.
Close encounters of this sort are indeed the best kind. I thank my lucky stars I met her, and that I had a lighter. Hopefully we will meet again. Life in the big city indeed.