The Park is Banned

I was just in the park, reading my book, as I do most lunch times (the botanical gardens is just across the road), I paused my reading to observe my surroundings.

As I did so, a man, probably in the age bracket of 18-25 was walking up the hill and staring at me. At first I thought he wasn’t quite right in the head, but then he struck up convocation with me.

This is how it went:

Him: Hi

Me: Hi

Him: Do you mind if I join you

Me: Oh, it’s okay, I was just about to leave

Him: You don’t have to

Me: Oh, no it’s fine, I have to go back to work anyway (stands up), you can have my seat

Him: Oh, it’s okay, I just wanted to talk to you

Me: Walks away

As I walked away, I felt kind of bad. It must have taken a lot of courage to go up to someone you don’t know and attempt to ‘pick them up’.

I think that it’s a lovely, flattering thing to do, and not enough people in the world do it (unless you are a crazy man on the Ipswich line).

I don’t know what it was, but I just didn’t want to talk to him and in my not wanting to talk to him, I completely crushed his soul for 5 seconds.

It’s not that he wasn’t good looking, because he was rather handsome.

All I wanted to do though was sit and read my book and be in the park, not having to force convocation with a total stranger to be polite.

Because of this incident too, I had to for-fit my chair in the park and come back to the office.

So where I was just feeling guilty before I started writing this, I now feel anger and guilt!

I was having a good time!!

Moral of this story? I have no idea.

I just needed someone to talk to, and who better than someone who can’t talk back (the internet).