Conversations with Strangers

As a young boy, I loved pushing the envelope as close to the edge as possible before a leather belt came out or a switch from a nearby tree came to greet me. Do you remember any of the things your parents warned you not to do when you were growing up? I remember disobeying almost all of them because I wanted to understand why I couldn’t or shouldn’t do certain things.

The one that stands out the most in my mind was hearing the same phrases over and over again, every single day. Every morning when getting ready to run off to school, my mother would say to me, “Now remember, don’t talk to strangers and don’t take candy from anyone you don’t know, and most importantly don’t get into any car with a stranger.” Then she would make me repeat them to make sure I understood and remembered. I always had questions and asked ‘why’ or what will happen, or suppose it’s my favourite chocolate candy or a beautiful car? The questions stopped when I saw the expression on my mother’s face. That’s when I knew I had gone over the line of safety, but she had to rush off to work and didn’t have enough time to slap me on the bottom. I still wonder why she never told me the reason I shouldn’t talk to strangers or try new candy or desserts. Besides, isn’t it rude to reject a treat when offered?

To make it even more confusing, I was lectured on being friendly and helpful to every older person…