On a bus stop

It is funny how the smallest thing that people share may make them talk to each other. The bus they all are waiting for is sufficient for them to have a nice chat, even though normally, at least in Poland, people do not have any kind of conversation with strangers (except elderly people who speak to other elderly people in a bus at 7:30 because they have no one else to talk to at home). But when there's a cause, a common ground that somehow unites people in a given situation, they form pairs or groups so that they do not feel alone in these less favourable circumstances. Today I was standing on a bus station, it was dark and snowing a bit, a little cold, though not too much (comparing with -18°C we had last week). An older man, in his early seventies, asks me about the bus. He looked sad, so I replied in the most polite way and then mantained the conversation. We waited for about 30 minutes out of which spent 15 talking. These kind of things move me sometimes. If the bus hadn't been late, I wouldn't have met the man. If I always spent at least 5 minutes with any person who's waiting for the same bus, I would meet many interesting and valuable people. This one was not exceptional at all, but it moves me how many pieces of information I got thanks to the little chat we had. He's got a wife and a son, he lives near my place, on Fiołkowa street. His son lives near Wieczysta bus station and has got a car. The son gives him a lift from time to time. The son has a child, so the man is a grandfather. He often goes to his son's place. He sometimes walks home, but today he felt weak so he decided to take the bus. I also learnt other stuff but now I mentioned only some personal things. He learnt a bit about me as well. He was sweet. He made me think of my father, though my dad would never talk to a stranger like that.

When the man was leaving the bus and saying goodbye to me, he lifted his hat off his head. I wondered - will men in 50 years' time tip their hats when saying goodbye to a woman?