Gardener

My wife and I went to a movie the other night. Up. It was okay—a couple of really heartwarming scenes that show the pain in the loss of a mate were great. The accompanying music—a simple piano—was really moving, especially to people who realize they are getting older. What was not okay was the volume—especially the volume at which the 12 or so inane previews were presented. As an older person, I recognize that my hearing is not what it used to be, but even to me, the volume was so loud it nearly drove me from the theatre. I felt assaulted. I sat through the 15 minutes of previews with my fingers in my ears the entire time. When the movie finally began, the volume was turned down a bit, but it was still much too loud. I will admit that when I watch TV at my kids’ home, I miss half of what is said because the volume is too low, and when they watch TV at our house they complain that we have the volume turned too high. Having said that, let me assert that the theatre’s use of such high-dec...

Last week I was power-touched twice—or at least I think I was. When it happened, I did not know whether such a thing as a Power Touch existed. I thought the phrase “power-touching” was my invention, but I googled the phrase just to make sure and discovered it is not my invention at all. But more on that later. What is Power Touching? In my experience, it usually occurs between two males—one who occupies a position of authority in relation to the other. The person in the authority position will at some point in the conversation put his hand on the shoulder or back or arm of the other. He may even rub the back or arm in a caressing manner. The intent of the touch, I believe, is to put the other person at ease—create a sort of comfort zone. As I experienced my touchings last week, one was done by an expert, so naturally that it seemed just a part of the conversation. But the other was done so awkwardly that I had the feeling that the person doing it was doing it as some sort of a...