And don't get sloppy: The other day I saw a girl get her bike stolen very close to a dock. She turned her back on the bike for a bit (looking for a spot? looking at her phone?) and someone jumped on the bike and took off.

What is better than "how many hours of work something would take if you buy it". Is "how many hours of work would it take you to save enough money to buy it.

Because even with a high salary, your ability to buy stuff drops as your debt load rises. (i. E. Being house poor)

Conversations are a two way street. A real conversation involves both sides. And it can simply be hard to get that street opened up due to age gap, authority, gender, whatever.

I think the heart of the OP is that if someone is trying to open up on their side, and this is a person who you would like to talk to/know, then you should take advantage of the opportunity to talk /listen while you have it.

Now it may turn out (or you may already know) that that street has nothing but pain. In that case, of course, there is far less of a reason to.

Ask him what his favorite things are (pick one topic - hobby, place, car, whatever he seems like he kind of likes) and ask him to tell you about it/why he likes it. People generally love to talk about things they love. Hopefully you like it/understand the interest. And actually listen and stay engaged. Ask questions about things he's vague on.

Conversations are two way streets. Hopefully you also find an intersection of interests yoy both like and then you can both dive into

She's not smelling the brain degeneration. I believe She's smelling a enzyme/chemical combination uniquely created by Parkinsons that comes out when they sweat.