Perfect Strangers- Who are They Really?

[KoolHndLuke]

 I have met a few people in life that seemed very mysterious to me and out of place. They are the ones that just stick out in a crowd to me for reasons. We all tend to notice small things about people like their clothes, their walk, their mannerisms, their speech, their facial features and their eyes (for me). Most of the time we can make a reasonable assumption about a stranger's identity and origins. But....every once in awhile, we can't seem to figure a stranger out- or even make a logical guess. There is no clue about them and they remain "perfect" or "total" strangers despite our attempts to poke and prod them for information.

 

 One friend of mine is a lowly janitor at my local grocery store- A hulk of a man, in his mid 50's I'd guess, he is not from the south for sure by his accent. We discuss politics, conspiracy theories, history, art and literature, you name it- ALL the things that the mousy majority of my little community NEVER discuss- at least not in depth. I've asked him about his past a little and he just gives some phrase like he has been many places and seen many things. The only thing he will say about himself is that he was once a bouncer in a bar or club.

 

 Another man I met one very hot day in the middle of the Summer was almost surreal. I am on my way home from some business in the city, about 20 mins out- in the middle of nowhere when I spot this guy by the side of the road thumbing for a ride. He is wearing a grey suit and holding a briefcase. Now I don't normally pick up hitchhikers, but, the suit he was wearing intrigued me- to say the least. He speaks clearly and evenly (no discernible accent) and asked for a ride. First thing I ask him is why he needs a ride and instead of him saying his car broke down or something, he said he doesn't own a car (this is strange in my area). I asked him what was in the briefcase and he open it and showed me some papers and half a sandwich. He also said he couldn't pay me for the ride since he didn't have any money! I studied this man's face and looked at his haircut and clothes again and knew that he came from a successful background. Feeling curious (and stupid), I decided to give him a lift. Now, to say that this man was aloof is an understatement. He would reveal nothing about who he was or where he was from-or much of anything else for that matter. I wasn't that worried because I carry a gun in my car since I travel. He wasn't high, he wasn't drunk, he wasn't deranged. All I could think while we talked about mundane shit is "WHO THE FUCK IS HE?!!" I let him off at a gas station in another town and never saw him again.

 

Have you ever met a stranger that just completely mystifies you like this? Or maybe an acquaintance, or a friend that seems to have a past that they won't talk about leaving you feeling even more curious? I mean, what do we really know about anyone that isn't us? And what compels us to define every single object or person in the first place?

[Guest]

I really think it just boils down to we all have a dark side in our mind, some of us hide it better than others certain people you can see the dark side coming out of their eyes.

 

People always tell me when they meet me that I look intense because I don't smile alot , and I'm always focused on whatever I'm doing instead of what's around me or the people around me.

 

I really believe that if every human being spoke the darkest thought they ever had in their mind we'd all be considered a bunch of psychos

[KoolHndLuke]

7 minutes ago, -Caden- said:

I really believe that if every human being spoke the darkest thought they ever had in their mind we'd all be considered a bunch of psychos

True enough. I'm really thinking the first guy that I talk to in the grocery store is in a witness protection program. The second guy that I gave a ride- I haven't got a fuckin clue. Could have been a spook, but, why would he be standing by the side of the road thumbing a ride all calm and shit in the middle of the morning on a week day? Weird.

[bicobus]

27 minutes ago, KoolHndLuke said:

why would he be standing by the side of the road thumbing a ride all calm and shit in the middle of the morning on a week day?

'cause somebody else picked him up and left him near that place at a earlier time? You didn't get him to his destination either, right? So most likely he'll get yet another ride that day. Things are as mysterious as we let them to be, I assume you didn't ask him specific questions that would satiate your curiosity, right? I mean, the first thing I'd ask would be: "What the hell are you doing here, man?".

[KoolHndLuke]

2 hours ago, bicobus said:

'cause somebody else picked him up and left him near that place at a earlier time? You didn't get him to his destination either, right? So most likely he'll get yet another ride that day. Things are as mysterious as we let them to be, I assume you didn't ask him specific questions that would satiate your curiosity, right? I mean, the first thing I'd ask would be: "What the hell are you doing here, man?".

I did. He said it was because God willed it- no shit. I couldn't tell if he was bat-shit nuts or just fuckin with me. Also, his destination was much further than I cared to drive. Like several hours one way.

[bicobus]

1 hour ago, KoolHndLuke said:

I did. He said it was because God willed it- no shit. I couldn't tell if he was bat-shit nuts or just fuckin with me. Also, his destination was much further than I cared to drive. Like several hours one way.

A missionary or pilgrim then. I assume in the US? Totally reasonable. Pilgrimages are usually done on foot and over long distances. I invite you to read about the Pilgrimage of Compostela. Generally a pilgrim would walk all the way, since reflection of the self is the whole point, and be hosted at reduced price or without any cost.

 

Sometimes believers wants to go to a certain place because it has a special meaning to them. The purpose is their own.

[Guest]

We (this here place I live around) places way too much value on clothing,

free clothing or old clothing you wouldn't throw away (because there'd be nothing left).

 

If (because I can only freaking guess) a guy wanted a long distance ride, it'd behoove him (because women-hitchhikers  I wouldn't know)

to slick his hair back and wear the most decent-thing he owned.

  There's this whole hitchhiking etiquette I'm really bad at.

Once in Mexico...Nevermind.

and then there was the time a guy nearly leapt outta the car because I acted friendly(?)

I'm gonna defer to better writers and shut up now, I just wish (we) would all stop judging people by their clothes.

A bus driver picked me up twice on the same day.

The first time she looked like one scary woman but was very polite.

The second time (on the way home) she rushed her lines after saying "I'm stuck with you again."

I *Hope* she was only judging my clothes, or maybe she really was scary...

it's enough to give someone a freaking complex. (*another* complex)

[Jazzman]

Guess long before oneself comes across a perfect stranger, one might already be perfectly familiar with the one in the mirror, the occasionally perfect stranger for others when one is slightly different in looks, language and perhaps compared to the 'consensual' likes and the common behavior of an outwardly homogeneous group one gets in touch with. The first cut is the deepest and the wound never really heals. Thus it easily becomes a much quoted family trope, sometimes justified, sometimes just far-fetched and sometimes even as a mere joke.

 

Mom, the other kids in school don't want to play with us because of our (jet-)black hair and our language ('indigenous slang').

__ Me, aged five or six, in whitewashed Argentina

 

[KoolHndLuke]

11 hours ago, Jazzman said:

Mom, the other kids in school don't want to play with us because of our (jet-)black hair and our language. (Me, aged five or six, in whitewashed Argentina)

I'll bet you were a really cute kid- look how you turned out! Their jaws would drop if they could see you now.

 

  I grew up in the city myself and was used to seeing kids from very different backgrounds, religions, maybe a few speaking different languages. It never bothered me because there was never anyone telling us kids that different is bad in some way- at least not telling me anyway. I only started to get a taste of being treated different when tragedy struck our family and we became poor when I was about 7 or 8. It made me so mad that my mom couldn't buy me nice clothes and stuff to go to school. But, it taught me valuable lessons about money and what it does to most people that have plenty of it. I laugh at them for thinking that they are somehow better and immune to disaster that can strike any one of us at any time.

[Jazzman]

9 hours ago, KoolHndLuke said:

I'll bet you were a really cute kid- look how you turned out! Ugly Duckling syndrome- I'll bet they're jaws would drop if they could see you now.

 

  I grew up in the city myself and was used to seeing kids from very different backgrounds, religions, maybe a few speaking different languages. It never bothered me because there was never anyone telling us kids that different is bad in some way- at least not telling me anyway. I only started to get a taste of being treated different when tragedy struck our family and we became poor when I was about 7 or 8. It made me so mad that my mom couldn't buy me nice clothes and stuff to go to school. But, it taught me valuable lessons about money and what it does to most people that have plenty of it. I laugh at them for thinking that they are somehow better and immune to disaster that can strike any one of us at any time.

Indeed, after puberty my big sister and I just loved to ride to town on Saturdays to mash up the place, if you know what I mean. We 'made them pay'... dearly. Boorah! And you nailed it already - it ain't the kids that invent 'the strangers' but their parents have taught them so. Often it gets handed over from generation to generation and occasionally reinforced by the media and all the rest. Kids just want to join a pack to play, any pack will do, they have to for their well-being and to socialize, that's fuckin' natural. We should grant it to them. There are more than enough serious problems left one has to face as an adult later.

 

I know what you mean with poverty. I didn't get the hoped-for white sneakers for Xmas 2002, the country defaulted in that year leading to a total collapse of the society with mass riots and mass poverty everywhere. And not for Xmas 2003 since the US in its wisdom had sanctioned our free roaming, gmo-free beef, the only source of revenue. Check! Population on the ranch increased by 'family reunion' of employees from 20 to some 100 within a year in those days. Kumbayah, my Lord, Kumbayah! Despite all the daily misery we were happy people nonetheless. That's a strange phenomenon. Maybe this explains why I always gave my mods, the food for players, away for free w/o much fuss... my dad did the same in his own way. You simply can't suck blood from a stone, but a stone can easily trip you up. And there are a great many stones out there as we speak, even in this community. I sense it like the coming rain when the air suddenly changes its smell.

 

Sorry for the excursion. Back to topic.

 

[Guest]

On 7/31/2018 at 3:00 AM, KoolHndLuke said:

 I have met a few people in life that seemed very mysterious to me and out of place. They are the ones that just stick out in a crowd to me for reasons. We all tend to notice small things about people like their clothes, their walk, their mannerisms, their speech, their facial features and their eyes (for me). Most of the time we can make a reasonable assumption about a stranger's identity and origins. But....every once in awhile, we can't seem to figure a stranger out- or even make a logical guess. There is no clue about them and they remain "perfect" or "total" strangers despite our attempts to poke and prod them for information.

 

 One friend of mine is a lowly janitor at my local grocery store- A hulk of a man, in his mid 50's I'd guess, he is not from the south for sure by his accent. We discuss politics, conspiracy theories, history, art and literature, you name it- ALL the things that the mousy majority of my little community NEVER discuss- at least not in depth. I've asked him about his past a little and he just gives some phrase like he has been many places and seen many things. The only thing he will say about himself is that he was once a bouncer in a bar or club.

 

 Another man I met one very hot day in the middle of the Summer was almost surreal. I am on my way home from some business in the city, about 20 mins out- in the middle of nowhere when I spot this guy by the side of the road thumbing for a ride. He is wearing a grey suit and holding a briefcase. Now I don't normally pick up hitchhikers, but, the suit he was wearing intrigued me- to say the least. He speaks clearly and evenly (no discernible accent) and asked for a ride. First thing I ask him is why he needs a ride and instead of him saying his car broke down or something, he said he doesn't own a car (this is strange in my area). I asked him what was in the briefcase and he open it and showed me some papers and half a sandwich. He also said he couldn't pay me for the ride since he didn't have any money! I studied this man's face and looked at his haircut and clothes again and knew that he came from a successful background. Feeling curious (and stupid), I decided to give him a lift. Now, to say that this man was aloof is an understatement. He would reveal nothing about who he was or where he was from-or much of anything else for that matter. I wasn't that worried because I carry a gun in my car since I travel. He wasn't high, he wasn't drunk, he wasn't deranged. All I could think while we talked about mundane shit is "WHO THE FUCK IS HE?!!" I let him off at a gas station in another town and never saw him again.

 

Have you ever met a stranger that just completely mystifies you like this? Or maybe an acquaintance, or a friend that seems to have a past that they won't talk about leaving you feeling even more curious? I mean, what do we really know about anyone that isn't us? And what compels us to define every single object or person in the first place?

my head is filled with overpriced corned beef from brazil in square cans,

and a sisterly rivalry from actresses who wouldn't hurt flies.

I know next-to-nothing about corned beef except I adore it and they don't sell the domestic version anywhere in my area,

and that scary woman on a game show was the same woman I fell in love with in an old movie.

She could have been a may-september love or a really bitchy aunt, I'll never know.

 

  In another thread about suicides I thought about the perfect stranger that was my close relative, calling me after twenty years to yell at me for talking about the wrong stuff (She was a computer expert, and I wanted to pick up pointers).

It's said (Because how would I know) she committed suicide by driving into traffic.

It's like a guilt-trip from a movie or a book, and a feeling of guilt because I'm focusing on the guilt instead of her.

 

Once in a Mall Parking-lot, on an august very much like this one,

A woman in a heavy overcoat appeared to be asking for money (I was out of earshot).

I didn't have much but I gave her what I could, enough to buy something from Wimpy's.

So....yeah, I've known perfect strangers, *you* are all perfect strangers.

(Rhetorically speaking)

Honey drips from your lips but what rivalries do you have?

How close to ending-it-all are any of you?

Do you really need that $5.00 (I spent it already) on Patreon?

Yeah, my post is guilt-laden plus I'm outta cigarettes.

 

[KoolHndLuke]

5 hours ago, 2dk2c said:

Yeah, my post is guilt-laden plus I'm outta cigarettes.

Hope you got some more- sucks to run out. Of course, we could just quit smoking, but, that probably won't happen until it's much too late.?

 

Perfect strangers- what's so perfect about them? Just chuckle at the phrase is all. Strangers surround us all the time on the internet, tv, in the park or shopping mall- like you say. What makes one stranger more interesting than the next? Do we all want to be noticed by people- I know I don't some times. I hang back in the shadows.....and tend to pay more attention to those who do the same. We are all Creation's broken, misfit children- some are just "broken" in very interesting ways!

[FauxFurry]

Balki Bartokomous and Larry Appleton.

 

 

[KoolHndLuke]

One stranger that I really found interesting from a movie. I know it's old, but, I still regard it as one of the best "first encounters" in film. I don't think anyone can be stranger- and more intense- than this. I'd almost feel honored to have my liver eaten by him.