People at a coffee shop
Some are working remotely on an employer’s clock, some on projects with impossible due dates. The PhDs are frantic.
You can spend weeks without sharing the first word with a stranger next to you. Then the unexpected happens, the unspoken code of silence is broken by a sudden sneeze.
That convulsion is greeted with a ‘bless you’ or another expression of ‘good health.’ Once those words are uttered you and the stranger are on limited speaking terms.
Weeks pass. You may ask to plug in your power adapter or briefly, very briefly, compare laptop devices. But after time the question will inevitably be breached: “What are you working on?”
Now you’re discussing careers, childhood foibles, allergies to synthetics fabrics. You’re sharing photos of pets.
There are myths aplenty about sneezing: It’s as close as you can get to death. Cupid’s sneezes shape the course of love. Someone is gossiping about you. It’s an orgasm, or is it?
Unlike the sneeze, the hiccup is greeted with silent bemusement in the windows of our coffee shop. Flatulence is discouraged.
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How often have I lusted after someone else's laptop set up and asked about where they got it! Don't think I've ever sneezed at --------!!
You make friends easily without sneezing, Steve. What's your track record on hiccups?
The Eleventh Commandment at here is "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors laptop." Coveting thy neighbor's spot in the window is perfectly normal.
Cute slice of life, Pat, on what appears to be a slow news day at -------. Thanks for sharing your insights—they’re nothing to sneeze at!
This comment was not generated by A.I.!
This reply WAS generate by AI. For the record there are no slow news days at our coffee shop.