Yesterday was a glorious day. It reached 29 degrees and felt like it was the middle of summer. Instead, it was promoted as the last day of great weather before a week of autumnal weather of low 20s, wind and light rain.

I picked up the phone and told the parents to get ready as I was heading over there to pick them up to go for a beach drive.

My intention was to head into Port Melbourne but as I was driving there, there were road closures and diversions so it seemed that everyone was on the road at the same time so I made a U-turn and drove south instead.

We got to Sandringham which is near our place anyway and went for a walk around the yacht club there. We were lucky to find a car park. There was a footy game on the nearby oval and people were headed there or to the nearby sandstone cliff lined beach but we walked the jetty right to the end to watch a few who had perched on the rocks there fishing.

As we were watching the view above (see my tweet), a young man (I’d say he was in his 30s) with his bike and a beer in his hand opened up a conversation with my father and I. He pointed out the yachts wandering why many weren’t out on the water.

It was exactly our thoughts just five minutes before as we were talking about that.

So a conversation ensued but it was obvious that something wasn’t quite right with the many conspiracy theories he was throwing into the conversation. I wasn’t sure if he was testing us as to seeing how much he can say. I learned some conspiracy theories that were well, odd as much as they were actually entertaining.

Luckily, we continued to talk in good and animated spirits, smiling and laughing. Every so often day something like, really, oh and I didn’t know that!

In the end, we said our goodbyes and looked up at the beautiful blue sky and said “well, at least we can enjoy the beautiful weather with a beer!” and then headed back to the car slowly.

It struck me that I’ve been having more random conversations with strangers and my parents confirm the same. After the lockdowns, Melbourne has experienced an opening up again of shops, cafes, restaurants and well, life. Yes, there has been an increase of crazies on the road (I’m convinced people have forgotten to drive) but at the same time, people are talking a lot more to strangers. To people near then, across tables, on pavements and in queues waiting to be served in shops.

I actually quite like this. I also like it for my parents as they get out a bit and talk to people other than direct family members.

Humans are social. It’s our natural state. We need to be around others in the community for our compassion and care to show. People cannot live alone isolated from others with no one to talk to.

Even a little bit of chatter with a stranger is good for our mental health and well being just to feel that we have been heard and to appreciate the joy of just being out on a lovely day.