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Friday, October 6, 2017

Silence is not always Golden

It is a cosy little place.
A truly family operated Restaurant cum Coffe-Shop and Sweet Bakery.
We sit at a table in a little alcove, having finished a delicious small dinner, amidst an intense discussion regarding the confused and confusing political situation in the country, when the door opens and a young couple enters.
Both blond and curly haired, he has a sharpely chisseled face while his female companion is more round faced.
A lovely couple.
They select a table just across from us and sit down.
Out come two i-phones.
He places his on the table in front, slightly off to the right and commences tapping swiftly on the miniature key board.
She holds hers in both hands, operating it with both thumbs.
So far, not a word is spoken.
The waitress comes and, without looking at the menu, they place their orders.
More tapping on keyboards.
“Fridatten soup” is served.
He shifts his i-phone to the left of his plate, continues manipulating the keyboard, while, at the same time, spooning soup from plate to mouth.
Silence reigns.
She puts down the phone, takes two spoons of soup, puts down the spoon, operates the phone.
Puts down the phone, uses the spoon.
Puts down the spoon, operates the phone.
His method is far more efficient.
His left hand is on the phone,
his right manouvres the spoon from plate to mouth.
Long strings of “fridatten” tangle from spoon and mouth.
Silence.
We too have stopped talking, observing a modern relationship.
I am embarrassed, having been caught staring, as she raises her eyes from phone-soup,
catching me, watching them.
With a smirk of disdain she returns to
spoon/phone, phone/spoon...
He ignores the silent communication between me and his partner.
Left hand – phone,
right hand – spoon.
Not a word spoken
Silence!
Christin whispers: “The leader of the Opposition is a jerk”
I reply: “so is the leader of the ruling Party. Their TV discussion last night was a disgrace.”
They would have done better having a plate of “Fridatten soup” each, keeping their mouths shut.
Just like the two young people across from us.
Those who talk during the TV debate
and those who eat soup and operate their phones at the same time

have little or nothing to say to each other.

That's what
Bertstravels thinks, anyway.

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