an encounter at the quincy

while on my trip to boston, i went around & about the famous quincy market and north market. as i stood outside one of the plazas, this man leaning on the window spoke to me saying, "you want a picture of me?" i smiled, clicked, and laughed. we then had a few exchanges of friendly conversation.

i find little happenings such as this comical and thought-provoking. people usually don't go out of their way to speak up to a stranger and make conversation, but this man was kind enough to. he made an observation and acted up on it, that is, observed that i must like photography with my camera hanging around my neck, and took initiation by striking a benevolent question regarding pictures.

why don't we feel comfortable to reach out to strangers? why do we stick to familiarity?