My young wife has many relatives. I have met very few of them. The other night a knock came on the door. I answered the door and there on the front porch were two ladies and a gentlemen, none of whom I recognized. One of the ladies explained that she was my wife's aunt. She introduced the other lady who was also an aunt. The gentleman was just a friend who had driven them to my home. I invited them in and within minutes all the ladies in question disappeared into the bedroom to see our new son. I was left in the living room with the gentleman whose name was Max. Now as a rule this wouldn't have bothered me as I am interested in people and like their company, but Max just sat there and had nothing to say. There was a crucial football game on TV which I had planned to watch, so I invited him to join me in the rumpus room for a look-see. He declined. I commented on the weather. He said nothing. I asked him if he lived in the city. He said "Yes." I thought to myself, "How on earth am I going to spend an evening with this fellow when he won't say a word?" Finally I asked him what he did for a living. He was a crane operator. "That must be interesting work," I said. "You know there is a crane being used on a building right across from my office, and I'd sure like you to tell me how that thing operates." I explained the machine to him and he was off and running. He told me it was a new type of machine that was being used in the city for the first time. He used one in Texas some years ago. "What were you doing in Texas?" I asked him. From that moment on we communicated. I tell you all this to point out that EVERYONE has a story, if you'll just take a few minutes to try and find their field of interest. Although Max and I had absolutely nothing in common, I enjoyed his visit immensely. I never met a man from whom I couldn't learn something.
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