Tell me your life story

Am I the only one who runs into these types of situations? I'll be sitting or standing quietly in a public place - like a subway car or an elevator or the locker room - and some random stranger will decide to share his or her life story with me. No, I didn't ask them for it. I didn't even make eye contact with them. I'm normally engrossed in some other activity, like reading a magazine or getting dressed. Yet, for some reason, these people think that I (and ONLY me - not the other people in our general vicinity) wants to know all about the surgery they're going to have, or the family problems their facing.

Perfect example - just this morning, I was sitting in the waiting room of my OB/GYN's office when an elderly woman came into the room having just finished her appointment. She looks at me and asks if it's still raining outside. My answer was simple - No. Clearly, that "No" really meant "Why don't you tell me your life story old lady?" So she proceeds to let me know how she chose the lighter jacket because it was getting warmer outside and she didn't want to have to carry all her rain gear to the appointment, it would have been a hassle, so she chanced it wearing this particular jacket. I just smiled and nodded - and was thinking that would be that.

Then she proceeded to tell me she only comes to this office once a year and gets everything done in that one appointment. I responded saying I wish I could only come once a year.....Big Mistake Nicole! That opened up a long-winded, one-sided discussion. The woman had 3 children in 33 months and wouldn't change it for the world. Her one son, who is 52, worked in sales, but because of nepotism in the workplace, he decided later in life he wanted to be a math teacher and coached football, baseball and soccer. Of course, had she been asked when her son graduated college what he should do with his life, she would have encouraged him to be a teacher. But he didn't ask so she wasn't going to say anything. She wished she had because he could have gotten a job in a suburban school instead of in the inner city.

Two of her children and their families came home from Thanksgiving, so she had 10 people for dinner. They all wanted to see grand-dad, who is suffering from Alzheimers. She's heartbroken - they've been married for 57 years and he took care of her through 4 surgeries so she wasn't about to put him in a home. At least at home he won't leave, and he always takes her hand when he leaves the house. And about that 57 years, her granddaughter from California can't understand why her father left her mother (it was unclear to me who her child was - the father or the mother - because she had 2 boys and 1 girl).

I'm sure there is more that i'm forgetting at this point...I just smiled and nodded. I literally did not say one word. And I was trapped. I was waiting for my appointment - there was nowhere to escape to. Fortunately, I only had to wait for about 5 minutes (yes, she told me all this in a short 5 minutes) and our one-sided conversation had to end. It's not that she's not a nice lady - she was quite pleasant, and obviously a bit on the lonely side and wanted someone to talk to (or have listen to her). But i'm not exaggerating when I say this happens to me almost on a weekly basis. Last week it was the Asian woman in the locker room at my gym who sang me a song about "Swimming After Thanksgiving" (she was very amused at her ability to rhyme) since she saw I had just come in from the pool. She was going to Brigantine, NJ to see her son for the Holiday.

Ok, I can certainly open up to people too - and I do, especially when getting to know someone. But that's the difference, it's someone i'm wanting to get to know - not some random stranger that i'll probably never see again. Hmmm...I supposse I can see the benefit in divulging personal information to a stranger like that now. It could be therapeutic in some ways I guess. Still, I don't know why i'm that stranger they choose. It's like I have "Tell my your life story" stamped across my forehead.