Richards Rendezvous: Hello Stranger!

I always, well maybe not always, but sometimes make excuses for them because perhaps they haven’t noticed you in the crowds (often there’s no one walking either way), or are deep in thought about something that’s troubling them or because of some important issue they’re having to take care of. Here we go again I hear you say, `Richard, what are you talking about?’ Yes, you’re right, I should explain... I speak of people you know who are not intimate friends or even friends, but you know them, in some cases you know what they do or what they’ve been during their working life and the same the other way around. They know about you. In many cases you’ve met them, maybe even worked with them or simply, you just know about each other - you know about them and they know about you. It’s enough. Yet, you walk past each other time and time again in town, you are ready to say hello, or offer a smile and nothing, not a single sign of life anywhere on the person’s face. They just walk past as if they have crossed paths with the invisible man!

Well, in some cases, as I say, there may be a reason for the no contact, but I feel that most of the time it will be a question of a, couldn’t be bothered attitude. So, you may be thinking, ok, but why is Richard so concerned about being ignored? And you would be right. It’s because I just feel it so strange not to offer a simple hello, or not say anything at all but show a grin or a beam on your face in acknowledging someone you know is just walking past you. The reasons for behaving this way I’ve found hard to comprehend. When it happens once or twice you can put it down to not being noticed or the person’s deep in thought for whatever reason, but when you experience this multiple times, I don’t know about you, but I find it annoying. It could be shyness (hard to believe these days, especially if they know who you are).

Perhaps they think if they do greet you, you might ignore them and they will feel stupid, saying hello and not being replied to or being acknowledged, but most of the individuals I’m referring to, I know are not of that ilk. I think they just don’t want to bother, especially on the many occasions you see each other coming from a distance, even amongst the crowds in some cases and as you approach each other they pretend they haven’t seen you by looking down or away from you. To my mind, I think it’s just crazy. So yes, I do have a remedy. On one or two occasions I’ve forced myself to stop them and make them notice you and jokingly say, `que pasa, nos conocemos, no? Say hello hombre.’ Maybe they think if they do greet you, you’re going to suggest going for a coffee together, having a meal, having to invite you to their home or even ask them for a loan or some crazy thing like that. Aren’t those ridiculous reasons for not offering a simple greeting? I know of a number of individuals who, it seems to me, don’t dare to say hello, because in my case, my past, or even the present – having been in the music business with my ex singing partner Albert Hammond away from Gibraltar for a number of years and then, since returning to the Rock the more than 50 years (even up to the present), in broadcasting on radio and television with GBC, they may think you won’t say hello back. I don’t know, maybe that’s it.

Well, what I do in some cases is stop them and force them to chat for a short while and that, many times, breaks the very frozen ice resulting in them being fine after that and are even first in saying hello to me when we see each other again... Not rocket science, verdad? There is also one very important thing I’ve learnt, and that is, to `never judge a book by its cover,’ as the very common idiom tells us. Some of these individuals, in the end, turn out to be, very nice individuals. You never know what’s going on their lives and inner being at any particular time. It happens to all of us...Well, to end on a lighter note and by way of contrast, what about the souls who if you stop them, or they stop you and start chatting? They just don’t know when to stop and in many cases are going on about something you are not at all interested in and heard it all before, or they just rattle on about nothing. So now, it’s you who wishes you hadn’t acknowledged them and had ignored THEM, when they approach you. Hands up! I am guilty of that practice and have to admit do it not infrequently. I have to say... But that’s how it is. Not the end of the world.

Something I do very often is, `observe’ the goings on or lack of in our town. `Observations,’ is what I call them and here are the ones for this fortnight... Part of getting ready for the big day in JULY – fingers crossed. Well, I notice quite a bit of little paint jobs going on here and there. Even our fire hydrants a lick of bright red... How badly do you need a job? Would you go for a food delivery one on your scooter, or try something a little more daring, like cleaning widows high up above the ground...? We complain and complain. It’s in our nature. Prices are forever going up and up, especially with regard to foodstuffs. But have you noticed the number of large heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) queuing up waiting to be unloaded on Waterport Road and at the large supermarkets? The answer to that one is simple. We still have to eat, don’t we? See you in a fortnight...