More Talk About Talk

"But I think only a small part of our conversation is of that nature.  I think there is something deeper going on.  What do you think?" - Uncle Ken

I think that people talk for lots of different reasons. Sometimes there is an agenda, and sometimes there isn't. Sometimes it's just a social bonding ritual. It used to frustrate me when somebody would ask me a question and then change the subject while I was right in the middle of my answer. At some point I came to the conclusion that they weren't all that interested in what I had to say on the subject, they were just trying to start a conversation or keep one going. For example, they ask me how my dog is doing, and I proceed to tell them everything my dog has done since the last time I saw this person. Truth be known, they don't really care all that much about my dog. What they want me to do is say something brief about my dog, and then ask them how their cat is doing. Then they something brief about their cat and segue into something else. Their intent is to keep the conversation going, and it makes them uncomfortable if we stay on one subject for any length of time.

It seems that the more people there are in the group, the more difficult it is to stay on topic. If the person to whom you are talking doesn't change the subject, somebody else will interrupt and do it. It used to be considered impolite to horn in on somebody else's conversation, but now it seems to be the norm. When I saw "now" I mean that's the way it was a decade or so ago when I still used to have live conversations with people on a regular basis. Truth is, I really don't know how people are doing it now because I don't get around much anymore.

In thinking about Crete, Illinois today, I concluded that it was presumptuous of me to assume that the town was founded by immigrants from the Greek island of Crete. Indeed, according to Wiki, the town was originally called "Wood's Corner" when it was founded in 1836 by Dyantha and Willard Wood. It didn't say when the name was changed to "Crete", but a click on one of the references revealed that there are several hotels in the town with Greek sounding names, including the Crete Greece Hotel. It then seems reasonable to assume that there is, or used to be, a significant Greek population in Crete, Illinois, but we don't know the circumstance of their arrival, or if their descendants are still there. It only took me a few minutes to find this out, and I'm sure that a little digging would uncover more interesting tidbits. If this was a live conversation, however, somebody would have changed the subject by now, and this fascinating information would never see then light of day. That's one reason I have come to like blogging better than talking.