Some Thoughts on Things we Have, and the Things We're Going to Get

Have you ever noticed what people talk about? I was at a restaurant eating lunch at a side booth yesterday, with a dozen conversations going on all around me, and it suddenly dawned on me that people, in essence, only talk about two things: things they have and things they are going to get. I don’t think people always used to talk about that. I can remember when my dad’s friends would stop by when I was younger, they would stand in the driveway at my home, and I would rarely hear them having a discussion on what they had or what they were going to buy. They’d talk about the driveway they had just sealed, or how this was going to be a hot summer. My mom’s friends would ask how she made the ice tea, it was so delicious. Now people talk about everything they’ve bought that week, and the things they plan on buying next week. I suppose the only way to prove to someone that you have just as much money, and thus you’re just as good as them, is to buy things, and talk about it, and then explain that you are very much inclined on purchasing quite a bit more, and you’re going to spend a lot of money doing all of it. I don’t think anyone knows how to do without. When my dad was out of work, my family did without. Rough times fall on everyone sooner or later. The difference between now and then is now people refuse to skip a beat. Material items seem more important to people today. People like to tell you what they got, followed immediately by how much they paid for it. I don’t like telling people how much I paid for anything. I figure that’s my business. I don’t care to explain to people what I have either, or what I plan on buying. I really don’t have that much stuff come to think about it. I guess I really don’t have that much to talk about with other people. Maybe that’s why people don’t talk to me.