The power of one word

This afternoon David had just come off the running machine in the gym and was cooling off beside a fan. Noticing a lady sitting to the side of the fan, he said just one word, 'suzushii', which means 'nice and cool'. Just one word. And the lady was so effusive in her praise at David's masterly grasp of the Japanese language - after just one word! Anyway, the one word led on to a conversation. The lady gives away her age - 71, but she looks much younger. David compliments her on her youthful looks. She tries her hand at English. David says how good she is. We chat on (David still cooling down by the fan) and David shares what we are doing in Hiragishi, starting a church. 'Oh, are you a Christian?' she asks, 'My son goes to a church'. Or at least he did - he's too busy at the moment. She would like to learn English. We promise to exchange addresses next time (sadly no name card in my pocket in the gym!). The power of one word. And the value of just engaging in conversation.