Friendly Men and Sad Donkeys

You don't have to travel to the other side of the world to have memorable encounters. But somehow it helps. And on cold winter evenings, or on parties, they come back to you, either to cheer you up, or as the basis of a funny story that will make you the darling of the party. They are of course also well suited for blogs such as this one.

At one time I was waiting for the subway when a tarnished man came walking along the platform, begging for money. It wasn't rush hour and the platform was not crowded so he asked everyone. But when he came up to me he just looked at me and said "No.", and then he went to the next person.

At one time in Greece, on a blazing hot day, I sat on a low, white wall, reading a book. Suddenly an old man came out from a small cabin with a beer in one hand and a Coca Cola in the other. He gave me the Coke, and we sat there, drinking, without saying a word. He didn't even smile. When we were finished with our drinks, I gave him the can, and with a nod he went back to his cabin.

On one trip to Korea, I took a walk in the mountains that surrounds Seoul. It was also a hot day, not exactly suitable for mountaineering, so I sat down on a rock with my book. After a while a family of three came walking up to me. Mother, father and daughter. The man, beaming with joviality, said "Hello! Where are you from?" I answered him, and he said "You are very handsome! Do you have a girlfriend?" Again I answered, and he said "Don't worry, you will soon find someone!" And then they continued on their walk.

I will end today with a quote from Eeyore, not only because A.A. Milne is a favourite of mine, but because someone called 20something wrote some nice things about me on blogsrater.com, and said that my writing was "vaguely reminiscent" of said Eeyore. So here's to you, from Winnie-the-Pooh: "This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Overrated if you ask me. Silly Stuff. Nothing in it."