Deck chair afternoon

Back yard, iced tea…

Katie: Lovely day for deck chairs.

Eloise: Absolutely. As a wordsmith, do you know the origin of the word deck chair? Something to do with ships or boardwalks maybe?

Katie: I read somewhere they were originally called "steamboat chairs" from the era of steamships. Over time, it evolved into "deck chair".

Eloise: Fascinating! Nautical. Do you know when these chairs were first used?

Katie: Egypt and Greece I believe. They used similar chairs for outdoor seating, especially during gatherings and leisure time. But it was during the Victorian era that deck chairs became popular in Europe. They were a symbol of luxury and comfort during seaside vacations.

Eloise: That makes sense. Portable they are, too. Move to the sun for Vitamin D, and shade to avoid sunburn.

Katie: Collapsible design and lightweight materials. Perfect for unwinding with a good book.

Eloise: Sorry. You were wanting to read? 

Katie: No, no. People arrive, I chat. People go, I read. I do words, spoken, or written.

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Voice-over

In a summer of successive heat waves, under the trees with an iced tea portrays prudence. Clinking of ice in tea glasses.

Dentist and Driver Jabber

Local CoCo Bus

Verily on vocational patter…

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Jeff: My dentist talks all the time. Open a little wider. There we go. That’s it. This might sting a bit. Take a good rinse. Good. All finished now.

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Venn: Sounds like my bus driver. Talks all the time, too. Turning right here. Hold on tight. Don’t forget anything when you get off. Door closing, careful.

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Jeff: The culture?

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Venn: Could be the area. A lot of little CoCo buses.

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Jeff: And a lot of dentists around here, too. Six in this street alone.

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Voice-over

Keeping up a patter while working gives the impression of thinking things through. DP: A dentist reassuring the patient, a driver reassuring the passengers. RR: Reassuring all the residents. CCC: A community culture of caring!

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Dieting by diversion

Janet and Gladys are in a meeting. Both sometimes worry about getting overweight. Janet shows Gladys the story about Nancy Makin.

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Janet: Did you see this article about the woman who lost weight without even trying? Went down from 500 pounds to 170?

Gladys: I saw the story yesterday. And didn’t go outside for twelve years!

Janet: And then got help by chatting anonymously online.

Gladys: So the Internet helped. People communicated with her because of what she wrote, not because of what she looked like.

Janet: The bit I liked was that as a result she didn’t diet, or have surgery, or take medication to slim down. She did something else and she forgot about binge eating.

Gladys: Like the best way to get what you want is to help someone else get what they want.

Janet: Not quite the same. Maybe a closer analogy is to get better at another language by studying something else in that language.