All places to live have their assets and liabilities. Here in the Northeast US one of the latter is a certain endemic rudeness. While I'm very much an introvert, I try to avoid this when I can. For example if I'm ordering at a coffee shop I try to smile at the barista and maintain a non-aggressive level of eye contact. Maybe tell a joke if there's time. Not that they'll always have time to talk, but I like to show that I don't think I'm above talking to them, as a number of customers do seem to think.
And people, walking away because you don't have time to collect your twenty cents change is not the same as tipping.- The White Stripes - In the Cold, Cold Night
- Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It
- Fleetwood Mac - The Ledge
- Pink Martini & Saori Yuki - Puff the Magic Dragon
- Sarah Vaughan - If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)
- Sly & the Family Stone - (You Caught Me) Smilin'
- Morphine - Mary, Won't You Call My Name?
- Ladytron - Altitude Blues
- John Lee Hooker - Highway Blues
- Finn Riggins - Wake (Keep This Town Alive)
2 comments:
I've noticed a tendency by young people to be distracted by texting now that talking openly on cell phones seems to be less fashionable. Being friendly to people who have to work tending to the general public is a good thing to practice.
Jer found a funny article the other day. It was an IPO for a new social networking service called Phone Book. You look up the number to find a friend and dial them on a telephone. By doing this you can arrange to meet them face to face and actually talk to them while drinking a cup of coffee. It sounded like a fabulous concept.
Ahh, I remember that Sly song with great fondness.
Texting among young people is a fairly common fallback habit, one that can be triggered by boredom or nervousness. Not that young people are the worst offenders, or at least not always.
That Phone Book IPO does sound like a funny concept. I haven't been able to track it down, probably because none of the keywords really stand out, Google-wise.
Sly did make some great music around that time, even as the Family Stone was falling apart.
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