It's
one of those days when you were least disposed to speak with strangers
or mere acquaintances about nothing, that such a person would plonk
himself onto the empty chair at your table while he mumbled the
question: " You don't mind do you?". Before you had time to answer
whether you did mind or not, he had already adjusted his posture &
now seemed quite comfortably settled down there with you & ready to
carry on with more questions. In accordance with my family upbringing,
in fact the well observed tradition in every Chinese family, that one
should always respect one's elders, I smiled & waited for the grill
to start.
Questions from acquaintances are usually casual, limited to weather, your health and that of your family, his health & that of his family; the holidays of both parties, what you are up to now, yesterday or tomorrow. Answers are easy too, as most of the time they are not even exactly required. You often find that before you could answer one question that so called friend of yours is already asking another. Thus we spent the first 20 minutes or so exchanging absolute nothingness, all the while I was thinking, if only I could get back to my newspaper, which was spread out still on my side of the table, giving him ample hint that I really wished to return to it. No luck. He was quite enjoying the - " lovely chat, isn't it? " - amongst the other questions.
Then he started to, without the slightest encouragement on my part, tell me all his firm believes & principles of life, the importance of truths & nothing but the truths. I think the worst thing of getting old is not the first appearance of wrinkles but believing too much in the time tested truths, allowing no new questions raised to update one's convictions which had worked the last 50 years, why not now sort of attitude. Totally ignoring the past of time, the change of circumstances, the new technology, new advancements or improved methods, new discoveries ... each in itself or all together can influence, alter or improve on established facts but nevertheless outdated & now insufficient or no longer as effective.
I said to him this didn't mean the old believes or ways of doing things were wrong, just that good, valid or even valued as they were before, some are not any more now, which many older folks just can't see & accept, being so, not able to benefit from. I think he got fed up not able to convert me & suddenly remembered he had to dash off.
He
is a Scot by the way, and with intention of being my suitor! Normally
I love the Scottish gents, but this one is something else. I am hoping
he might even be a bit angry, perhaps enough not to show up sharing my
table uninvited too often.
No way, not with Mr. Annoyance anyway.
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