Some time late last spring I got the idea that Michelle Obama should be running for president instead of Barack. She has logged just as much time as Barack in the White House, probably calls a lot of shots behind the scenes, and has experience as a lawyer, mother and wife of a politician. She’s smart and attractive and has a powerful story too—all the things we look for in a president. And while we don’t see her giving many talks, in her public appearances she seems to have a sureness of character and strength superior to most of the other candidates. I mentioned the idea to many people but most just chuckled. A few people said Hillary would be more realistic. A handful got enthusiastic. But I still thought the idea had value. When I received e-mails from the Obama campaign (if you are on their mailing list this seems to be an almost daily occurrence—“give money and win a chance for dinner with Barack!”), I would write back and tell them to consider Michelle. I even ordered a stamp that said “Michelle Obama for President 2012” and stamped some dollar bills with the slogan, hoping to send a subtle message. When I received a nice family photo of the Obamas in a mailer, I tacked that onto my Obama lawn sign. Lately though, my enthusiasm has died down a bit. It appears there is no chance that Michelle wants to run and there is no indication she will play a different role in this election. I stopped mentioning the idea. I’ve even lost some interest in the campaign as the it turns into more and more of a circus of silly characters and ideas.

Then, a few days ago, as I was walking out my front door, I saw a tall, lanky man pause and look at my Obama lawn sign. He saw me and said, “I like your sign.” The man was not so old but bent over a bit and evidently suffering from some health issue because he was accompanied by an attendant, a young black woman. He leaned on her shoulder for support. I could see he was looking at the sign and the photo of the Obama family. He said, “I think Michelle would make a great president.” Wow! I couldn’t believe it. Here was someone already thinking the same way I did. I said, “ I do too…I’ve been trying to tell people that.” He replied, “She’d never do it, but she’d be great.” I felt a slight twinge of surprise or vindication or something positive.

We talked some more about politics and then this man commented on how much he liked the ferns in the yard. They reminded him of New Zealand. I’d never heard that connection before. I told him the ferns were beautiful but that we also had three Japanese maples that had just died. He said he was very sorry about that. Then I recounted the story of how I had called a plant pathologist and she had tested the plants negative for disease but that she thought maybe they had been planted in too much sun. Then more recently, a gardener who came to clean up the yard theorized that it was our big Elm tree (incidentally looking healthier than ever) that was the culprit. The Elm tree has extensive roots. The roots are constantly popping up in random places. The gardener thought that the Elm roots had choked out the delicate Japanese maple roots. My new friend agreed. He said he had several Japanese maples and he had planted them in 5-foot-wide tubs to protect them. In fact, he said, he has an extra tree and I am could come get it if I wanted. I thanked him and thought that was a kind gesture. We exchanged names and I found out where he lives.

As I returned to the house, I pondered this “chance” conversation. It’s no surprise that someone suffering from a health problem would stop and talk or even offer a tree. Most people walking down the block shuffle by quickly, en route to their destination. I’ve noticed that the people who tend to have time for unplanned conversations are those who are either older than 70 or have something debilitating. They realize life is short. That was true in Spain last year and it is true here. The healthy and the young have things to do, places to go. There isn’t time for the kind of conversation that probably has taken place among neighbors much more frequently in times past. Our modern lives prevent a lot of socializing and this is too bad. There are an abundance of gifts that come from even the small random comments and conversations. In fact, we are in need of these contacts now more than ever. The key is to initiate them. Often, in the initiating, you realize that many people enjoy sharing their lives. I make it a point now to notice tattoos on people’s arms. I ask them what they mean. They usually enjoy the explanation as it means something important to them. In fact, a tattoo on a young restaurant worker named Allison led me to the name of my blog. I’ll save that story for another post.