Faking It

I don't want to brag, even though this is my blog, but I remember my sisters and cousins being more confused about things as kids than I was. I am pretty smart, but all kids have things they misinterpret or don't understand because they're new here. For example, one year I went bowling with friends for my birthday and my sister was upset because she was sure she wouldn't get the same size bowl as everyone else. Adorable, right? The only thing I can really remember not understanding as a kid, that I understand now as an adult, is a doozy. I still can't believe it took me so long to make sense of this. Quite literally, years. Anyway... When I was a kid, my Grandma had a friend; Mr. Sam. We loved Mr. Sam and Grandma O'Connor. They were such good friends. He gave us lots of presents, and he worked at the apartment complex where she lived which was convenient because he could just take a break to see us when we'd come by. He always made sure there were lo...

Imagine almost any situation where two or more people are gathered--wedding reception, callbacks for a play, two off-duty cops hanging out in a Jacuzzi. All these situations involve people trying to effectively communicate with each other. Conversation can be hard. It can be really difficult to come up with things to say, especially to new people, but I'm noticing that it's becoming increasingly difficult for people to speak in general. Every time I talk to someone, I'm noticing this desperate scramble to fill the air between us, and apparently it doesn't matter what you say as long as there is no silence. Except that said unacceptable silence is being filled in the strangest way possible. I'm not sure where this came from, but I'm constantly hearing (and now seeing on Facebook and other social media) sentences beginning with "Remember when" and then followed by an anecdote of some kind. "Remember when we saw that movie last night?"  ...