Stranger #10

Stranger #10

With weather like today, I absolutely love just spending time outdoors, especially at Pennypack Park. It's actually one of my favorite places in Philadelphia. Even before I started this project, I always enjoyed going there because 90% of the people who walk past you actually smile and/or say hello. I dont know what it is that makes me appreciate little things like this, maybe because it's so simple but yet so few people do it? I dont know, but I walked around and enjoyed the non-winter like breeze! I also had the chance to run into some interesting and extremely nice folks today.

Please allow me to start off by telling you about the first stranger that I approached. Oh, Rosie. While I was walking around the track, Rosie was sitting by herself. I figured she was waiting for the bus, but I went up to her anyway. When I put out my hand and introduced myself, I knew that this was going to be quite interesting to say the least. Rosie made me laugh, big time! She was italian, and really only spoke italian. She could speak some words here and there but nothing too extravagant. I tried explaining what my purpose was, and she kind of got it, I guess. She started to ask me in broken english if I was going up to both men and women, and I told her yes. I actually went back and forth with Rosie for a good 45 minutes (a repeat of the awesome Albanian man that I met days prior!)Typically, at this point I usually have what the person is telling me written down in my book that I keep for this project, but with Rosie, I had nothing. She just made me laugh. Although I tried to explain to her that I wasnt doing this for school, she didnt understand or grasp that I was solely doing it for personal reasons. Rosie just kept reiterating "tell your teacher, you the boss, you the boss!" While speaking with  Rosie, one of the few statements that I could make out was her stating"the longer you sit here, you reach NY!" At this point, I wouldnt have anything to really write about Rosie, except that I knew her name, which was quite ok with me because I honestly wont forget her. When I told her that I have to take her picture for my project, she responded with "I need teeth, I have no fucking teeth, no picture!" I pretty much lost it at this point. I really couldnt stop laughing, because she just kept laughing at herself.

After Rosie told me that she didnt want to take a picture, I attempted to tell her to have a good day and it was nice speaking to her. Rosie wasnt having that. She kept telling me to come back, and the sucker that I can be, actually felt bad walking away from her. It seemed like she just wanted someone to talk to, even though I only understood bits and pieces of what she was saying. I'm not even convinced that she knew what she was saying. So, I sat there, and listened, and listened, and yep, I listened some more. Rosie kept telling me that I was beautiful because I have teeth and then asked me if my family had teeth. You could tell that it was a big insecurity that she may have with herself, but she never told me why she didnt have any teeth. She kept smiling and saying "no teeth, see!"It was pure insanity of a conversation to say the least, but again, she made me laugh. Eventually I told her that I had to go. We kind of ran away from eachother; her bus finally came, and I had to start walking away, which brought me to Anita.

Meet Anita. Anita lives in Cape Cod, Mass and was visiting her friend Stanly (in the picture above) for a few weeks. She also told me that during the Winter months, she goes down to Florida, and then goes home to Cape Cod to be with her family. Anita wrote a book and is in the process of getting the book published. Her book is a memoir written in letter form for her husband that she lost 5 years ago. She signs all of her letters with

As Ever,
Pudd
(Letters of a love story that never ends)

Pudd is a nickname that was given to Anita by her husband, and also it's the title of her book. I honestly thought the book sounded awesome, and creative, especially being that I'm a big fan of memiors. I also think that it's a different and a great way to mourn the loss of a loved one. I briefly got the chance to meet Anitas friend Stanly as well. Please keep him in your prayers, for he is having an operation due to lung cancer and hasnt smoked a day in his life. This is the reason that Anita was in Philadelphia visiting.

It's been a long day, but a great one. Keep following my journey of 100 strangers!