EveryONE has a story


The other week I saw teenage boffin out walking with a young lady, they were ambling down the lane chugging beers as they did so.
I waved from the car!
Last night when messaging the boffin about prospective dog sitting I asked him about her
"I KNEW you'd be itching to ask me πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚."
Came the reply!
I'm such a transparent nosey old git!

Everyone has a story to tell.
Everyone.
And we often forget that, so obsessed we are with our own lives, and the lives of celebrities and the famous.
Mrs A stopped by the kitchen wall yesterday. She marvelled at a deep purple clematis flower that was growing over our back shed.
" Many years ago I once went to a dance in Mayfair with an officer of the Coldstream guards and wore a flower like that in my hair" she remarked rather wistfully
" The Guards'  motto rather suited him" she added with a sly smile " it translates from the Latin as second to none "

Like I said....everyone has a story to tell
You only have to ask.....
I cut her a flower and presented it to her over the wall.....


52 comments:

  1. What a great post! You are right, everyone does indeed have a story to tell. The thing is that people need to stop and listen to what others are saying. If they did, humans would realize that everyone has common threads. The world would be a better place.

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    1. Your PINK VASE story was better

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    2. Not better...just different.

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  2. We do all have stories...many many stories that bubble to the surface every now and then and need to be told. Good thing there are listeners like you.

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    1. Listening to a story validates the teller

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  3. Some have so many stories to tell !
    What a sweet and perfect thing to do, giving her the flower.

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  4. What a gorgeous blossom, a wonderful story it recalled, and a lovely gesture you made to give a lady a beautiful flower for a beautiful memory.

    Someday, young boffin will look wistfully on a can of beer and fondly recall a stroll he took with a young maiden...

    Love. It is what makes us human. It makes life worth living. And it changes us for the better.

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  5. The teenage boffin has your number, lol!

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  6. One day when I was in my teens a boy picked a single flower on his way to our school to give to me. Ours was a very conservative school and he was unpopular because he looked rough around the edges and was the only student known to use illegal drugs.

    When I went home my mother asked me where the flower came from. I told her who had given it to me and what little I knew about him. At her suggestion I invited him over after school one day so she could meet him. When he left she said we don't know his story but he obviously could use a friend.

    When he trusted me enough to tell me what his home life was like we understood why he needed drugs to cope with it. His mom, three siblings and he lived in a three room apartment. She supported the family by being a prostitute and entertained her customers at home while the kids were there every night.

    He only attended my school for that one year. We lost touch with each other after he left.I hoped he fared better later on in life, as unlikely as that seemed.He was bright and very likable, I've seen people like him manage to turn their life around despite having the cards stacked against them.-Mary

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    1. Better than anything I could have written

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    2. It sounds like he had the sensitivity to pick you as one he could take a chance on trusting to accept his gift. What a lovely compliment that was.-Other Mary :)

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  7. You are right that everyone has a story. I am often reminded of this reading the comments on your blog. They are touching, sad and funny. It reminds me you have to listen to hear the story.

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    1. I agree there has been little gems written in the comment box

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  8. I prefer "caring" to "Nosey", mainly because I'm very, very, caring hehe x P.S When are you going to write your story John?

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  9. I talk too much, enjoying my own story. I need to ask and listen more often.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. ... or in some peoples cases many more than one story ;-)

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  12. Getting people to share these stories is a knack you have, John. You have become a 'blogging therapist' in a way. It feels good to get those stories out of our heads. So, thank you.

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    1. Jim has said it perfectly. Somehow you do bring those stories out.

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  13. Yours is the kind of thoughtful gesture, simply told, that makes me well up - in a happy way.

    As it happens, flowers, in various guises, play a part in many of my life's stories, not least the often cited meadows of my early childhood. I never tire of hearing anyone's "story/ies" - not even if I have heard them many times over; the story line "maturing" over the years.

    Daisy chain greetings,
    U

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    1. I think everyone should give flowers

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  14. I have been reading your story for so long. Your readers all feel like we know you. We all kind of sense there is a new chapter on the horizon. You will write it when ready and find every silver lining therein. It's what you do.

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  15. Love the way you gave her a flower.

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  16. Hi John...thought I'd try to leave a comment again. I feel like a ghost trying to make you hear me but it never works! My comments don't "take" and I don't think your old email address is good anymore as I never heard back from you. Anyway, I think of you often! Love, Dia over at The Odd and Unmentionable

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  17. That flower has a stunning depth of colour. The Mrs A flower story reminded me of a corsage I was presented with to wear on a date with an American man over 30 years ago. I stood him up whilst my Mum got out of the car to tell him the news that I couldn't make it. He gave her the corsage and asked her to pass it on to me. I felt so guilty as I looked at that flower dumped in a jam jar in my Mum's kitchen.

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  18. OMG!! It worked!! Send me an email at lives2hike1958@yahoo if you feel like it and I PROMISE I'll write you!
    Oh joy!
    (Dia the ghost again)

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  19. Sounds like it's not Cameron the Teenage Boffin after all but Cameron the Red Hot Teenage Lover! I hope the young lady does not lead him too far away from the path of righteousness.

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  20. Mrs A sounds like a dark horse.

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  21. You touch us all, John, with your stories.

    We all carry our burdens and joys with us and sharing them with someone is often cathartic. As we grow older and our world grows smaller, the telling of our story to others, who may be interested, are precious moments. Too often, though, the young do not want to hear from the old and the old do not understand the young.

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  22. And as bloggers we should know. I am a sharer of stories with strangers on trains and boats and planes too.

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  23. "There are eight million stories in the city...." Ever see that old TV series "Naked City"? Might have been before your time....

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  24. More wonderful kindness. Thanks for all these wonderful posts.

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  25. That is such a beautiful memorie that Mrs A recalled & your gesture made it more poignant.She must have been delighted-you gorgeous man you John xx

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  26. That's what I find so interesting about blogging. Not only does it give me the opportunity to share my story but I'm privileged to go around the world learning about people that I'd likely have never known even existed.

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  27. Yes, everyone has a story and for some, your blog will be the only place they can tell it.x

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  28. I really try to look at the bigger picture as to why someone should behave badly. I love the volunteers at the charity shop and they all have stories to tell !

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  29. You really are such a kind, romantic Scotch egg lover old thing.

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  30. And some story tellers (like you, and obviously Mrs. A) are a pleasure to listen to.

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  31. The perfect gift xx

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  32. Another lovely post.

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  33. Thank you for being a listener.

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  34. The perfect start to my day...

    Jo in Auckland, NZ

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  35. What a sweet gesture, John. You're a better man than you like to put on.

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  36. And it takes someone like you John to catch those stories as they are told.

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  37. Very true that everyone has a story to tell. I was on a train to Cambridge a few weeks ago and the guy sitting opposite me told me a propos of nothing in particular that he used to be a fisherman and one day his boat got into difficulties and if he hadn't been rescued by the RNLI, he wouldn't be alive today.

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  38. You’ve made my day . . .
    I like the person you are . . .
    Really, really do . . .

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