One of the things that I used to do as a kid was watch movies at the theatre.  There was a small theater close to my grandmother’s house that sometimes I would visit.  One time when I went there I was standing near the candy counter when I heard someone say “Come here often?”

I turned around and saw a girl my age who was waiting for my response.  I was thinking of what kind of candy I was going to get so I was stunned for a minute.  She repeated “I said, do you come here often?”

I managed to smile and say “Not really.  It’s my first time in a while.  I don’t live close so I come here sometimes.”

“Oh.” she said.  ”My name is Tina.  My grandparents own this theatre.  Do you want to talk for a while?”

“Sure” I said.  ”My name is Brian.  I bet you have seen all of these movies haven’t you?”

We talked for a while because the movie hadn’t started yet.  She was friendly and we hit it off.  I was surprised how open she was to sharing.  She laughed often and had a great smile.  It was fun talking to her.

I learned from Tina that you don’t have to have anything fancy to start a conversation with someone.  You just had to be open and friendly and most people respond to that.