Prudential Center visit a reminder of humanity

Sitting in the lobby coffee shop of the Prudential Center last week, waiting for the noon Mass at St. Francis Chapel, I had the opportunity to speak with a lot of friendly people who spotted me and my wife reading our books and decided to stop by to say hello.

Our long wait turned out to be both informative and fun thanks to the frequent visits from passersby. In the three hours we were sitting there, I only managed to read about 30 pages of my book. We spoke with a former president of University of Massachusetts Boston, the leader of a prominent local women’s suffrage organization, attorneys from several prominent law firms located in the Pru, union workers from the Hynes Convention Center, a former movie actor and even some local residents who were there to hit the stores.

It was a delightful time listening to so many interesting stories. It reminded me of sitting in a pub in Ireland and getting to listen to local residents who popped in to tell a colorful story or two. One Pru executive reminded me about how difficult it was to get community support when the city first started expanding the Prudential Center, another gentleman came by to tell me how much he loved hearing about my love for Jackie Robinson.

After Mass, we returned to the Pru for lunch at Eataly Boston, where we met a heroic and friendly young man who is in recovery. He told us how hard he’s working to get his life back on track and the progress he’s making. He even had a pretty young girlfriend who works at a local Dunkin’ Donuts.

I love meeting these hardworking, determined people and hearing their stories. Every one of them was a good person — some of them just needed a little break in life.

While speaking with a financial investment executive at the lunch counter, we struck up a conversation about the importance of funding medical research aimed at finding cures for the incurable brain diseases that many people are living with. I told him how I think Boston should be the medical research center of the world.

We have top-tier hospitals and a wealth of medical experts, we just need private investments and federal resources to come up with these life-changing medical solutions.

One by one, each person I spoke with at the Pru that day had a unique take on the various topics we discussed and offered a fresh perspective based on their life experiences.

I couldn’t help but wonder if in this age of social media and cellphones if people are increasingly missing out on the chance to stop and chat with their fellow citizens.

As we left the Pru to head home, I said to Kathy, “If we listen to people and do a lot of praying — you’ll be surprised how much we can learn.”