I did something really weird on Saturday. Lemme 'esplain...
Friday night I stayed at a friend's house. They had to work early on Saturday morning so they dropped me off at the Kalihi transit center around 7AM. No big deal. From KTC I can get pretty much anywhere on the island. I sat for a while and was talking to my girl, Laura, back home. We were catching up because she had surgery the previous Monday and was just getting ready to start on solid foods again. When I'm done chatting her up, I hang up and look at the bus times. As I do this, I think, "man! I'm hungry." And so instead of traveling north I get on a bus and head south to downtown Honolulu.
On the bus I pull up Yelp and see what's near me that's open for breakfast/brunch. The first one to pop up is a bookmark I'd placed a very long while ago: Scratch Kitchen and Bake Shop. So I get off the bus, walk a block down an empty street and enter through the front doors. All the people who should have been walking the streets are in this restaurant! It seems every table is occupied. The hostess asks how many. "Oh, just one," is my sheepish answer. "Would you like to sit at the counter? It's a bit tight but we can fit you in."
I nod and follow her to the back of the restaurant. It's an open kitchen set up so it's almost like sitting at a barstool watching mom cook in the kitchen. I'm seated between two men. The one on my left is younger, around my age. Cute and also appearing to be alone. The one on my right is older and with a female friend and they're already boozing it up.
I thank the hostess, squish my overnight bag under the counter onto a hook and take a look at the menu. I set my phone, wallet, and headphones on the table, preparing myself for an awkward wait and checking out Facebook or Pinterest.
And then... something weird happens.
The cute guy on my left says hello. I bewilderingly say hello back. We smile and one of us strikes up a conversation.
We talk all through breakfast. I got the BLT benedict, same as him. I also got a Tang mimosa. Absolutely brilliant idea to whoever thought that one up, BTW. We watched the kitchen staff flow. They were flawless and never seemed to get in each other's way. They were quick but not urgently scrambling. Each plate was composed and looked lovely when sent out. I'm sure they tasted even better than they looked.
Through the conversation, I learned this guy was from SoCal, enjoyed lizards enough to want to create his own pet store, and liked hiking. I, too, like hiking. He had one more full day left on the island. I offered to show him a hike. He accepted. We finished breakfast and went in search of supplies needed for a hike.
I never do this.
Ever.
Which is why it was super weird. I'm grateful he chatted with me and then went on a hike. I'm even more grateful that he drove me home, no questions asked. The most grateful thing though was him showing me it's ok to talk to strangers. It's ok to trust someone you don't know. To think they've got good intentions instead of think, "gee, I hope this guy isn't an ax murderer." And that sentence is actually discriminating against single guys, if you think about it. (Sorry all you first date dudes!)
We're all strangers, I suppose. Some are just stranger than others.
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