Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
The Nice Thing About Strangers
This was a job for the large round table in the sportsbar. The Grandmother seated herself between the mother-type woman and her pretty granddaughter, whose smooth face was turned down at her purple smartphone. The girl made conversation with her Grandma from time to time, but not eye contact. A few minutes later more from the party arrived: the Dad, their high school aged son, their middle school aged son. Grandma put up her arms for a hug. The trio waved across the table and collapsed into their chairs, hurriedly checking their phones to find any news that may have been released during their laborious pedestrian commute from the car. The older brother hid under his hat and scanned facebook. The youngest boy held his phone below the table, leaning forward, trying not to be quite so blunt about his distraction. Their father set the standard and proudly displayed the…
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I witnessed very much the same thing in a restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s a sickness that separates us from one another.