I had just finished unloading my cart at Home Depot the other day when a woman pulled up with her two young sons; when I offered her my cart she shook her head and kept walking.

There was a time when she might have offered to take the cart, but those times seem a part of the past.

Instead, she kept walking, talked to her sons and answered her cell phone.

Is the world really shrinking or is it just a narrowing of interactions and less interest in what’s around us in real-time?

The more distracted we become, and the more emphasis we place on speed at the expense of depth, the less likely and able we are to care.

Everyone wants his parent’s, or friend’s, or partner’s undivided attention — even if many of us, especially children, are getting used to far less. Simone Weil wrote, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

Each step “forward” has made it easier, just a little, to avoid the emotional work of being present, to convey information rather than humanity.

As usual, I am out of step.

I take back the carts, function beautifully sans cell/smartphone, pay attention to the humans in my orbit and love real-world interactions.

Digging in the dirt, conversation and reading (mostly cozy mystery fiction) are my favorite “time wasters;” no Facebook, Twitter or Candy Crush (my sister’s addiction).

I prefer to be connected to a few in the real world than connected to dozens (hundreds?) in the cyber world.

In short, I want to continue to pay attention and be present for whatever time I have left on this planet, whether decades or days.

Flickr image credit: Zeno_

(Obviously, I’ve been experiencing technical difficulties!)

Continuing last weeks social assistance to ease those awkward silences that may happen during (gasp) face2face holiday get-togethers.

Interacting with kids you see only occasionally, or even those you see more often, can be fraught with pitfalls.

Here’s a safe, interesting tidbit to get a conversation going, especially at a tense family dinner when young children are present. Just mention that Walt Disney was afraid of mice, and watch the conversational ball start moving.

Girls are often more chatty than boys and easier to engage. Here are two questions that should generate some interesting commentary, including from any adults present,

• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs. Why?
• A  duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no  one knows why. What do you think?

Gross work better with boys, but you need to watch it since there are usually other generations present that don’t appreciate gorss. That said, here’s one that will bring out the snickers, turtles can breathe through their butts. However, if your audience tries the same trick you will be in big trouble.

Here’s one more to use as you see fit, either as a starter or to shut up a bore, donkeys  kill more people annually than  plane crashes or shark attacks—good reason to watch your ass or stop acting like one.

Be sure to join me next week for great gambits that will light up all your gardening relatives.

Flickr image credit: meeshypants