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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 12:52 pm
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:27 pm
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:31 pm
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 12:39 am
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 9:45 am
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I met a tourist from New York City at the hotel where I work.
I smiled and greeted her with open friendliness, because that's how I do things, and she asked, in an openly hostile voice, if I wanted something. After a couple days of my persistently friendly greetings, the lady told me that I made her feel nervous, because in her experience people only smile at you if they want something from you or have ill-intentions towards you, and she couldn't figure out which category I was in.
I had never thought about it that way. I grew up in Orange County, FL in a neighborhood that was made up of small families and retired folks. Everyone I knew as a child was really genuine. If someone smiled then they were happy and wanted to express and share that joy with others, after all, smiles are contagious and I love catching them as much as I love giving them. I suppose that is not the same everywhere, and it makes me feel sad.
I think that some people react differently depending on their upbringing and life experiences. It is less that all Floridians are lacking the ability to be nice and more that your perception depends on where you're coming from and where you're going.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 12:07 am
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 11:04 pm
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Zelexia I met a tourist from New York City at the hotel where I work. I smiled and greeted her with open friendliness, because that's how I do things, and she asked, in an openly hostile voice, if I wanted something. After a couple days of my persistently friendly greetings, the lady told me that I made her feel nervous, because in her experience people only smile at you if they want something from you or have ill-intentions towards you, and she couldn't figure out which category I was in. I had never thought about it that way. I grew up in Orange County, FL in a neighborhood that was made up of small families and retired folks. Everyone I knew as a child was really genuine. If someone smiled then they were happy and wanted to express and share that joy with others, after all, smiles are contagious and I love catching them as much as I love giving them. I suppose that is not the same everywhere, and it makes me feel sad. I think that some people react differently depending on their upbringing and life experiences. It is less that all Floridians are lacking the ability to be nice and more that your perception depends on where you're coming from and where you're going.
That lady sounds beyond bizarre. But it's people like that who are the reason I am not openly friendly to strangers. I generally don't smile at people or make eye contact or talk to people unless they greet me or speak to me first. I guess I just don't trust people, I assume people are going to be rude or hostile to me unless they make the first move and show they are a nice person. I've lived here in Orlando all my life and have come across all sorts of people, good and bad. Although in my younger years most of the people I came in contact with were pretty terrible and I really didn't have any friends, or even any interest in having friends, until high school.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:14 am
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:17 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 8:43 am
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:19 am
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:28 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:36 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:16 pm
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Zelexia TheRob Zelexia I live in Orlando and most of the people that I know are wonderful folks. smile stare There are exceptions to the rule. I won't tell Edi you said that. emotion_awesome
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 6:16 pm
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TheRob Zelexia TheRob Zelexia I live in Orlando and most of the people that I know are wonderful folks. smile stare There are exceptions to the rule. I won't tell Edi you said that. emotion_awesome Are you so sure she won't agree with me? cat_stare
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