Do I know you?

It seems that no matter where I go, people talk to me. They tell me their life story. I have a strange appeal to particular people. Whether I'm sitting in the local watering hole, shopping or wandering an amusement park, I find myself in odd conversation. Some of it probably has to do with that fact that I've done so many random things that I can usually find something in common with people. One thing I've realized in this oddity of my life, is not why people choose me, but the fact that a lot of people have something on their mind that they want to talk about. Too many other people are self centered and could care less about other people's stories. Whether we admit it or not, it's fun to be the story teller when people are engaged in listening. I personally like hearing other people's stories. I know of too many people that have no interest in the lives of others unless it benefits them.

I met someone tonight that was in the 82d quite a few years before I was. Oh man, the stories were flyin'. Good times! He had a caveat to everything I said. The frustrating part was that as soon as I started talking, his attention was easily distracted. My part of the conversation was always cut off. That's cool I guess. I'm told I don't really have a good speaking voice so it's whatever. I light of this, I wonder if I'm supposed to be a 'listener' in my life. I always get the feeling that whenever I open my mouth, no one cares. I mean, I understand that some people really don't give a shit, but some people that I want to actually talk to may not really care what I have to say. Its another explanation as to why I tend to remain so quiet. Sometimes I'll tell some high impact stories just to vent a little bit. I hope I don't become one of those weird people that talks to random by-passers while they think to themselves 'who is this weirdo?'

I guess I need to quit evaluating why people are talking to me and just go with it. The next thing I have to contend with is trust. I have an un welcomed bias that people are more often than not, up to no good. Maybe I'm just cynical. Maybe I just need someone to impress me.