05 Wednesday Jan 2022
Posted in About Me, Barb's Commentary, Travel
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I sat there for half an hour but nobody said hi because this is Scotland and we’re only allowed to discuss dogs or the weather in public. Plus we get about an hour or so of daylight this time of year, and it was going fast. Getting cold.
I realized my MUCH happier bench was in my kitchen in front of a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s.
[The Not-All-That-Happy Bench, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow]
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A few years back, while traveling in Madrid, I bumped into a man and a woman both holding signs saying “free hugs”. You just had to walk up to one of them, and they’d hug you. The smiles on the faces of the people who got hugged were… priceless. Your bench reminded me of that. What a sweet idea!
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I saw that at a big festival in Seattle too. I was charmed until I heard on the news that it was a pickpocket scam…
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Oh no 😦 Talk about no good deed/thing going unpunished/having a dark side. Glad I was only a spectator in retrospect, thank you for removing any lingering feelings of missing out by not getting a free hug 🙂
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And if they’re not wearing a facemask, I pretty much think of them as serial killers.
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we each have our own happy bench )
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But with ice cream right?
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Hi from my happy bench.
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I would say hi to YOU Geoff!
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I don’t understand why anyone could willingly sit on that bench, its a little too patronising I think…
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Scotland obviously agrees with you. (I went back today and the sign was gone. )
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Good!
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Aww, no… not patronising?
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Patronising may be the wrong word, but it makes me feel uncomfortable somehow…
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Perhaps makes the person sitting there look a little needy? A bench without a sign – just a person sitting there, with a big smile? Er… perhaps not the smile – bit creepy?LOL
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No I know what you mean. Ever since we lost our old dog, I’ve become aware of what an amazing connection she provided to everyone around me. #MissMyDog
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I would feel very awkward sitting there…
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Unless you had your cover dog with you!
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I would have said Hi. But I would sit with a bowl of tuna instead, as well! Happy New Year and Joy to you.
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Well sure if there’s tuna. Who could resist?
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Tuna ;pasta! Sorry – going a bit off topic here. But tuna pasta and salad – lunch sorted. ( yes, I know it’s freezing cold – but it’s been Christmas, and the pounds have piled on)
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Christmas pounds SO don’t count!
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Try telling my jeans that, Barb – my unzipped jeans!! There again, I don’t get dressed that often, these days. My excuses… am writing, rubbish weather, no one visiting, can hide from postman …
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I would have said Hi. I was in line to get my booster shot. The Spanish man behind me tried to strike up a conversation with two different people who were clearly not interested. I was happy to chat with him, even though his English was limited and my Spanish even more limited. It made the 40 minutes go much quicker and I learned all about his family. He showed me pictures of them on his phone, he was obviously proud of them. We never did get around to talking about the weather.
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People here would be SO confused by you!
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I have to say, get me in a queue anywhere, at any time, I’ll talk to anyone. When our daughters were small they would cringe in embarrassment – now they’re the same as me. LOL.
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That is great, Judith! We need more folks who are willing to chat in a lineup. I chatted with a woman on a ferry once and we are still friends! My daughter chats with strangers too. A good thing to pass along.
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Thanks, Darleen. I just can’t help it! Barb’s post made me think – and remember something. Last week, standing outside the doctor;s surgery ( all safely distanced ) and chatting to an elderly man. When it was my turn to go into the surgery, he said I was the first person in a week who’d spoken to him who hadn’t needed to. Made me feel very sad.
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I’m sure you made his day!
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Well obviously I chat too. But I’m an American—people assume I don’t know better and they talk to me out of pity.
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We need a happy bench in our community! Mine right now, since it is cold, is in front of the TV with a glass of good whisky and my knitting!
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That sounds like one happy bench.
Here’s mine — happy to be home after a long trip, with a tired dog beneath.
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Aaaawww!
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Say what?? Is this a new doggie? (I think I´ve sat on that happy bench)
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Sadly, that’s poor old much-missed Peri, in kitchen of Glasgow house. No new doggies for now.
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I thought so at first but then wondered. A different time and place. Peri was such a lovely dog.
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You make me belly laugh, Barb. Now, I must head to the freezer for some Ben & Jerry’s
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Sounds happy to me!
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Yes, to me, too!
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As per my tweet share, the similar ‘stop and chat’ bench in our park is permanently empty. I think it’s because it’s patronising – what are you going to do, sit there and smile hopefully, willing someone to come up and talk???
Nice idea that comes off all wrong, I think.
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ICE CREAM ? I always pictured your happy place would include an amazing cup of coffee.
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Ice cream is to coffee as ‘quality of life’ is to ‘necessity of life’.
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I’ll join you on your comfy bench and bring my own ice cream – not that I don’t like to share but I have a lot left over in the freezer from my relentless stocking up on nice things in the (long) run up to the festivities. At some point I’ll need to think about losing all this excess weight but it’s so cold at the moment I’m going to hang onto it as insulation. x
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It’s a great idea, but perhaps not the best time of the year or circumstances for it. Thanks, Barb!
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Warm and happy with ice cream sounds much better than cold and miserable – without ice cream!!
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I’d be happy to talk to anyone, on any bench. First, reading this I thought: Great idea but then I read (overflew) the comments and I saw that it could be understood as a bit patronising…. well, the one thing is for sure: No better ‘conversation starter’ than a dog, or even better, a cute dog!!!
Followed by an man with children 😉 (that’s what I was told – or was it a film?)
I dreadfully miss not having a dog any more but I let (for once) win my brain. No good having a dog when you’re so often away as I am.
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