Some of your comments made me think about how and why I started talking to the homeless guys. I had to think about it for a minute and then I remembered what I did.
They both had scooters. One was a very nice scooter. As I walked by I said that I always wanted to try a scooter but it was too late now. So that got them talking about scooters. From there the conversation just went on like any normal conversation.
A few years ago the same thing happened with skate boarders. Skate boarders seem to be a rough bunch who don't seem to care about anything or anybody. I had seen these kids on my regular walk. One day as I went by they were stopped.
I just told them that I admired their skill. That gave them an opportunity. They wanted to talk about skate boards. I heard about the length and shape of skate boards. I heard about the proper place to put your foot for a certain maneuver.
I was very surprised at how technical skate boarding was. So I learned a few things about skate boarding but most of it went over my head.
I also learned about a group of people and some of them were not like I thought they were.
There are some groups of people who get some bad press. One of those groups is the elderly.