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Pastimes : Say Something Nice About Someone -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rambi who wrote (179)	3/13/2002 9:59:11 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 207

ROFL get that cynical side off my nice thoughts thread (not really) Perhaps she thought she was selling it to him was there a price tag on it? Or she was showing him her daughters table cloth for her wedding. Even now she is grumbling about el cheapo gringo who kept the table cloth she showed him.

To: Rambi who wrote (179)	3/13/2002 10:49:10 PM
From: cosmicforce	Respond to of 207

This is slightly off topic (say something nice to someone?), but is in a similar vein. My friend and I were out walking in a local regional park. This isn't the kind of park with benches but more like a preserve. It is usually only sparsely attended by local citizens, mostly upper middle class. It is open and without charge, so anyone can go up there, whether or not they live nearby. We had been walking a while and we came upon a small group of East Indians. What fascinated me is that they were in their traditional dress. It dawned on me how strange it must seem so far from where you grew up and have the people around you generally possessing suspicious feelings about you. Americans are not all that sympathetic to immigrants, ironicly. I've been to China and urban Mexico. I can only imagine that India suffers from a similar crush of humanity that Americans are oblivious to. Nothing is like China, I suppose. But anyway, we approached them on a path to a nice set of vista points overlooking the reservoir. The lead man (yes ladies were behind, but not much)had a most peculiar look in his eyes when they met mine. Jack and I are rather uninhibited when we are out and we both, almost at once greeted them in a friendly manner, saying what a nice day it was. It was surreal how the look of not-quite-trepidation washed away from his face. In an instant I had struck a chord. He immediately appeared "happy" for a lack of a better term. I can only imagine being here in strange and alien garb. But I can imagine what it feels like being unwanted in a generally unfriendly place where most people don't like your look. I related a story about Bakersfield a long time back on another thread. Long hair - sleasy gas station cafe in the '70s. Not pretty how the locals treated me and my mom. Nothing brutal but vocal objections to our presence and general hostility. That is not a world I want to live in so I consider it my duty to greet people (agriculture workers, janitors, gardeners, road workers and construction workers). The people in these professions are frequently immigrants, or other people who are generally at the peripheral edge of society. These are people who are often marginalized and treated by middle class Americans as "invisible". I refuse to do this. On the trail, I hope that the Indian man will remember me in his casual conversations back home, promoting the well being of me, my family and countrypeople (aint' that awkward and PC?? ).