O-jaiiiii
Back in the Golden State, things are looking up. People are slowly but excitedly opening their doors to the world outside their homes and stepping out into the light. On the flip side, for those of us who have spent almost all of our time outside, the open door also provides a very scintillating path IN to spaces with human size couches! Even better - there are other humans on those couches! And our hands can touch as we share the same chip bowl! There’s a lot to get psyched about as our world is starting to feel like a safer place to be for many of us.
But I’ve noticed something. Perhaps it should have been anticipated, but it is jarring to witness and experience nonetheless.
It seems the year of isolation, the endless waterfall of Zoom calls, and the existential crisis posed by a global health pandemic has taken a toll. Yes, you may have noticed it too. Perhaps on the sidewalk, waiting to cross the street. Maybe you’ve started going back to the grocery store and it’s happened to you. Whatever part of society you start re-entering first, it can’t be missed.
The art of small talk has died. And now it falls on all of us to rebuild it to its glory days.
This is not a guess. I’m not exaggerating here. I have witnessed this rebuilding stage first hand.
For instance, there was the man camping near the Ojai frisbee gold course we were playing. I proceed to toss my frisbee, followed by B, and then to our collective surprise the man just starts yelling, “SHE’S KICKING YOUR ASS!” “HEY! HEY! SHE’S KICKING YOUR ASS!” Then, compelled by some spirit of camaraderie, the man gets out of his chair, runs down to us saying “I’m coming down!” and lets us know that he’s been seeing alot of people mess up this hole.
Or there was the man who saw us getting into the back seat of our friend’s car. No “hello,” no “nice afternoon.” Instead he attempted to merge a connection to his fellow beach goers by saying, “Oh, my client loves that car. Really. She told me she loves that car.”
And then there were the two old men camping next to us. After having just arrived, B is trying to back in the camper while I am outside directing him; a moment that requires some heightened degree of diligence and focus. All the while, these two old men in their Hawaiian shirts and matching khakis are over here playing 20 Questions with me “Oh you guys just pulling in eh?” “How long you gonna be here?” “You two buy that outright?!”
Sure. These could just be random instances of single men behaving erratically in a world where everything seems erratic. But more likely, I would argue that we are witnessing the seedlings of a renaissance, a rebirth of what seems like a relic of times past, even a myth to those who achieved 2020 hermit status. I think we have found ourselves at the beginning of a chit chat revolution. It is not pretty right now - obviously. Our path forward is going to be chalk full of non sequiturs and completely irrelevant information. There’s going to be too much eye contact, or maybe not enough. There needs to be a worldwide un-learning of the phrase “you’re muted.”
But my god, it’s time to give our pets and plants a break. Let’s roll our sleeves up (and put some SPF on, you’re very pale) and get out there to do the hard work of talking to people again!
