There and Back

Small talk sucks. And small talk is beautiful. I was leaving for work today and the elevator stopped at the seventh floor. A man got on. I see him sometimes during the week if we both leave at the same time. We usually chat about how shitty the weather is here up north, chuckle,, and bid each other a good day. Today I learned a little bit about the Man. We’re chatting about how especially shitty the weather was gonna be today rain and snow and higher temperatures. He said it was a bummer because he just bought skis and wanted to use them and he also mentioned he hadn’t skied in a very long time, since he was in the army when he was in Norway. I said that was so cool. He said when he was out practising recently there were kids flying past him so he needs some more practice. In the army in Norway damn that’s cool. It’s amazing the things you can learn about other people just from some small chitchat. Other times when the elevator stops and people get on, I stare at the floor shut the fuck up and pray that they don’t talk to me. But this time I’m glad I listened.