the little man who wasn't there...

The Little Man Who Wasn't There...

 

It's surreal.  You are in a group of people and yet they are not there at all.  They talk in your direction, nodding and smiling, but if you could see, their fingers are busy under the table edge, tapping out one conversation after another.  So now it is possible to be totally rude without having to be obvious about it. 

Our Thanksgiving family gathering is a fine example.  My 30 year old grandson's cell phone continuously rang.  But he never answered it.  I thought he never answered it.  I thought he was politely ignoring the many calls, although I felt that if it were my phone I'd put it on silent ring or shut it off out of deference to my family. 

But no, he wasn't ignoring these many calls.  He was quietly texting one after another.  Dumb me.  I wondered why he would say, "Huh?" to many of the comments directed toward him.  "Huh?"  So we'd repeat whatever it was and he would give a brief comment and then return to being silent.  I thought it was connected to his having dumped his girl friend, the mother of his son, our great grandson.  He told us that they just didn't have anything in common.  "She isn't interested in my work or anything I do or want to do", he complains.  Hell!  How would he know!  You can't have meaningful relationships while pecking away on that little bobble from the Dark Side. 

I love my grandson.  And for the most part he is a bright, hard working fun fellow.  Or he used to be all of that.  But now he is distant, part of a group without being part of it.  Somewhere else even when he is here.  It's just plain rude.  But it's what young people are doing these days. 

Well next year I'll be ready.  All guns, boots and cell phones will be checked at the door. 

Frankly I'd rather not see family members if they just travel all that way to come here to not be present. 

 

Curious Carl

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Go For It!

 

I'll probably never shrivel up and disappear, but I do not plan to begin to try running with the herd. 

When you come into my office I will not allow others to barge in and demand to take some of your time.  My phone service will catch incoming calls and I will give you 100% of my attention while you are there.  Multi tasking has its place, but not when I am engaged with you.  You are the most important person of the moment. 

A funny thought suddenly flashed through my head, because I just discovered that my brain actually does multi task even while I'm writing to you, but anyway, the funniest thought just came to me.  I see two folks embraced in love making, each one with a cell phone texting someone else. 

Oh well, it would replace watching Johnny Carson during those late night intimacies. 

So if that's your thing, Go for it!. 

 

Curious Carl