"Rare, rare events in the Baltimore region"

You've certainly listened to me rant on topics such as these in the past. If I compare the # of times I've been in a cafe per year to the # of times that a stranger seemed interested in connecting or speaking with me, it would come to oh, 1 out of every 30 or 50 times there might be someone whose eyes are not 100% glued to their electronic appendage!

Yesterday I was at one of the cafes where the tables are 2 to 3 inches apart from each other. Remarkably, for the most part that does NOT make it more likely that someone would make eye contact with a person at a neighboring table. In many but not all cases if I'm alone that I'm extremely open to making a new acquaintance. But I note if they are with their device and don't want to connect then I most certainly respect that.

I assume that people who don't make eye contact don't want to speak to anyone-but maybe I'm wrong about that. They guy that was spaced just a few inches away from me never looked up from his Blackberry 'cept to return my smile when I sat down.

The carols were loud and oppressive and the speaker was right above my head. I needed a break from all the driving I'm forced to do especially now that I'm in Carroll County.

AFter I had been sitting for about 30 minutes I said "oh no" Some particularly painful song came on (similar to the Chipmunks singing Christmas Carols) and I responded out loud to that. They guy next to me laughed and said "It's really bad" He said it with an Israeli accent. It turned out that he is one of the few who despite the Blackberry addiction he loves to talk with new people.

He asked surprisingly intimate questions given that I am a stranger. I told him about having been homeless and he replied "See that guy right there?" "Yes, I said" He said "He's homeless

I studied the guys face and realized that he's the guy whose blog I read occasionally. I went over and introduced myself to him and he said "I was reading your blog earlier today!"

There's a definite upside to technology. That you can meet someone first online and then find out that your fan is sitting just a few seats down from you is incredibly neato...............................