One of the things that I used to do as a kid was watch movies at the theater. 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 by 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.