Dear Stranger, Tell Me Your Story…

I want to know what’s between us.

I used to be an exceptionally extroverted person. I would strike up a conversation with just about anyone standing next to me in a grocery store line. I knew no strangers.

True story: I met my best friend while waiting in line for a beer at a concert in Mexico. Five years ago.

The last couple of years, though, have brought a weird shift in my life toward introversion. I can’t really explain why it happened, but it did. I like to keep to myself now. I’ve become much more quiet. Being the biggest, loudest person in the room used to just happen. Now, I would loathe it. I like the outside edges.

Chatty people are now a dicey proposition for me. I’ve tried to figure out how to deal with them. Sometimes, I’m in line at the grocery store and someone strikes up a conversation with me when I don’t necessarily feel like speaking. I’m generally pleasant. However, I will horribly admit that many times I’m annoyed. I just want peace and quiet, even in a loud grocery store.

This evening, on the way home from work I stopped at the bookstore to pick something up. I wandered over to one of my favorite sections and saw a lady standing there flipping through a book that I had…