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Editorial by Michelle

Who Would You Most Like To Speak  With?

What if you had the opportuity to have a conversation with anyone you wanted? Who would you choose? Would it be Oprah? President Bush? Nelson Mandela? The list is endless. Last year, Barbara Walters did a show called "The 50 Most Fascinating People". The list was made up of famous people from many walks of life. There were actors, politicians, designers and singers. I'm pretty sure that my list of the 50 did not really coincide much with hers (her choice for #1, Karl Rove!).

If you just made a list, I would bet that most, if not all of the names represent people that you will probably never get the chance to speak to. It ptobably doesn't matter that much, because in fact, famous people get to put out their thoughts pretty freely, and the media is eager to accommodate them.

But what if you were not allowed to put famous people on your list, who would you choose. Traveling as much as I have, I have been fortunate enough to have conversations with hundreds of truly fascinating people. Not famous people. Probably not rich people. But people that have traveled different paths than I, and who generously shared their experiences with me.

One of my favorites is a woman named Bobbie. She is a 58 year old black lady, sharply dressed, who sat next to me on a plane recently. She was very friendly and we struck up a conversation right away. It turned out that she was a survivor of Hurricane Katrina. She had just relocated to Utah with her adult son, because "that's where the plane dropped us off".  She told me that she had just gone to New Orleans, where she had lived for her entire life, to recover any belongings that she could. In fact, there was nothing salvageable, so she had cut her trip short and was returning to Utah.

She described her experience of sleeping on the concrete outside the convention center for 4 days. She had watched older people die, and babies without milk or diapers. She was aware that the minority community in Utah, but had already made some friends and was looking forward to starting again. Although she had just lost all of her material possessions, she held her head high and expressed hope for a good life in a new place.

It did not take long for me to realize that I was speaking to a truly fascinating person. How about you? Have you had conversations with strangers that turned out to really fascinate you? Interesting people are everywhere disguised as ordinary people. Are you open to listening to new people and letting their stories add to your experiences?

Bobbie probably won't make Barbara Walters' list again this year. But she will always hold a place in mine.

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