Sitting next to a couple of elderly guys in a coffee shop and the conversation turned to prostates, as it always does for men of that age, but then the younger-looking one ranted on the socials and the selfies on "The Instagram." It's hard to understand why everyone needs a photo of everything now days and not just a photo, but a photo of themselves and everyone's got to see it.
Preach, son, preach.
He talked about a box of photos he keeps because his mom’s writing is on the back of each one and I remembered looking at old photos with the description on the back, when the time stamp wasn't on Facebook, but in the script of the family scrapbooker. When photos were about special events or celebrations, not how good my breakfast looks or how cute my dog is on a Tuesday.
And then the older man started talking about his mom and I was reminded that we’re all parents and children at some point, whether or not we ever give birth. Roles switch, life happens, gears shift.
“What’s his name, the guy who visited Kim Jung Un? The basketball player.”
“Rodney Peterson,” replied the older guy.
Yes, it was definitely Rodney Peterson.
I almost hoped my meeting stood me up because they were so fascinating.
Now something about seeing Hillary’s face on TV. And how much he loves Hannity.
BUT HER EMAILS.
And back to the socials.
"On Facebook, profile picture, it’s just my face. My daughter’s is hers and her girlfriends. My daughter has three kids, she has one kid," he said. They live in another state and they’re in love.
After a pause, "I accepted it, since it makes her happy." Another pause, "It would be hard for a guy to accept her with three kids, so this is probably better."
But the bottom line was, if she’s happy, she’s happy, you just have to accept it.
He learns all these things from Facebook. Her girlfriend, their kids.
His friend tells him to make contact and go visit.
I want to turn around and yell, "GO!! Buy the ticket today! GO NOW!"
And we're back to prostates.
Photo credit: Jeremy Bishop via Unsplash