A Study of Social Interaction

Even though I am supposed to be of a purely academic bent, restricting my social commentary to outside observations, I am afraid that I have to break that stricture now.

I really appreciate being on a small college campus where I know many of the faces I see on a daily basis. I like being able to smile and nod at people without them getting suspicious of me. I like the casual conversations I can start with people, or that they start with me.

This was all spurred by somebody asking my friend and me about our project with making vellum. I barely know him, but he knows the person I am working with on the project. He drove us to pick up a few supplies for our project in November, but I have not really seen him since.

I mean, I am sure that the experience probably stands out in his mind...it is not every day that someone asks you for a ride to pick up a pair of calfskins. But he still took interest in the project and the progress we've made. He laughed at us when we told him that our parchment ended up behaving more like cardboard than paper, and he jokingly offered to give us a ride to pick up another calfskin. (At least, he had better be joking, because I am not planning on making any more vellum any time soon!)

But the bottom line is, he remembered who I was, and he made a point of asking about something that is important in my life right now. It was a simple gesture, and it only took a little while, but it has stuck with me enough that I am thinking about it again hours after the fact.

So, while he may have distracted me, however briefly, from my studies of the mysteries of the universe, I suppose I can find it in my heart to forgive him. And, if I talk to him again in another four months, I may even thank him! The personal aspect of the interaction touched me. I think it is worth a break from academia to "study" it further...if there is a non-academic way to study something.