Fascination

Another year of football has begun, and with it comes Sundays and Mondays of sitting on couches and bars talking about statistics so vital. It amazes me how people who have very little in common and could actually care less about each other can talk for hours about interceptions, defensive lines, offensive coordinators, completion percentages, yadda yadda yadda...

All of this prompts: How well do I really know the people I think I know? What sort of things creates bonds between people?

A good friend and I were chatting last night and she and I agreed that we really liked each other and we were both very lucky to have such a cool friendship. I don't know that I have had that sort of conversation with many people.

What are the things about people that make me (or anyone for that matter) hang out, share stories and swap secrets with them?

Of course, similarities in taste, from movies to music, make it easier to relate to someone. It's always easy to get along with someone who has a similar background, similar political views, similar schooling...but is this really what we desire? What about that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry dates the female version of Jerry? It didn't work out. All that talk about opposites attract: I don't know about that either.

You could move from psychological to physiological. I'm not going to want to hang out for very long if your hygiene is a bit lax, you know? And there is something to smell in general. That High Fidelity, smells-like-home thing.

After all this, I guess maybe I don't want the question answered. What fun would it be to know why I like the people I like? I'll take a page from the late Madeline L'Engle: stop looking for answers and start appreciating the mysteries of the universe. Now that makes me smile, and really, what could be better than that?