Reach out and touch

I was reading about a man named Nick Epley. He's a behavioral science professor, and that's a great field to study. Dozens of people over the years have made a science of trying to get me to behave (and only one has succeeded). 

Epley has written a book called "A Little More Social," and he stresses that just chatting to people - even strangers - has a way of making us feel better and happier. A longtime subscriber to the theory that a stranger is just a friend we haven't met yet, I have never had a problem talking to strangers. I mean, what does it hurt to say hey to someone and ask them about how they like the weather, or how about those Orioles, or do they think this spot on the back of my hand looks like something to worry about.

Just kidding with that last one.  As a Medicarian, I have semi-annual dermatology visits in which every square inch of my epidermis is examined as if it were the hide of a long-frozen yak from the Tibetan plateau.

Start making the first step to reach out to others, is what Epley advises, It's a sure cure for loneliness!  And by doing so, you make new friends. I can't tell you how many times a stranger with whom I shared but a brief interlude in some office building has gone home and told their family, "I met a most interesting fellow today. He asked me to look at the back of his hand..."