We were dining in a Whataburger (a wonderful fast-food franchise popular in the south) the other day and my attention was drawn to a table of four old-timers … meaning they were even older than me.
One of the three guys was particularly loud and I eventually figured out why. He was talking on his cell phone.
Now, talking on a cell phone in a restaurant is one of those particularly unpopular things that people like to fuss about. To be honest, I have no problem with it if you can talk in a normal voice and, let’s face it, the fast-food environment is not the same as a high-end establishment.
This guy, however, was making a nuisance of himself and I finally saw why. He had the phone on speaker and had placed it on the table. His business was so important he wanted everyone to know what he was doing.
We hear of an aging person’s “second childhood,” that point in decreasing mental abilities where one behaves more like a child. The fellow at Whataburger caused us to wonder if maybe second childhood is preceded by second “teenhood” in the aging process.
You know how some teens just assume everyone wants to hear their music or an amazing story about what happened last night when so-and-so went out with so-and-so.
Have you made any observations of second teenhood?
Perhaps I should apply for a grant to study this theory.
Steve Martaindale 