Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Conversations

Conversation 1, heard as I was riding the train to see a friend:

Boy: Ask me!

Mother: Ask you what?

Boy: Ask me! Ask me how old are me?

Mother: How old are you?

Boy: Five, but.... six soon!

Mother: Six soon? When?

Boy: December 2nd. You know what's December 2nd?

Mother: It's your --

Boy: B-day!

* He literally said "b-day"!

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Conversation 2, at the hairdresser's:

Me: Hi!

T: Hi! I remember you! You came during Christmas last time!

Me: Actually, it was February....

T: And it looks like you haven't done anything to your hair since.

Me: Well....

T: Your hair doesn't grow much, does it?!

Me: Well... I guess not....

T: Oh, and your mother came two or three times, but she hasn't been here in a while.

Me: Oh really?!

* My mother had failed to tell me that she had come to this hairdresser after liking what he did to my hair in February. I am mortified that I share a hairdresser with my mother, and I don't know why.

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Conversation 3, in my head:

V1: Why is it dark at night?

V2: Because the sun gets tired and goes to sleep.

V1: But why is it dark at night?

V2: Because the Earth rotates on its axis, and the sun, our source of light, dips below the horizon and sets.

V1: But what about other stars? Isn't the sun just a star? So why is it dark at night?

V2: Yes, but the other stars are very far away.

V1: But if the universe is infinite, and there are an infinite number of stars in our universe, then every inch of the night sky has the potential to be as bright as the sun's light as these infinite number of stars overlap each other. Then why is it so dark?

V2: Because the universe is expanding, and the stars are getting farther and farther apart, moving away from us all this time. In effect, every night sky that you witness is darker than the previous night's, and every subsequent night sky is darker still. The universe is literally exploding, in front of us, and around us, and there's nothing we can do about it.

V1: Oh. How oddly and fascinatingly comforting.

* Inspired by a late-night radio show I heard about a week ago and that has been on my mind since.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, oddly comforting. At least your mother doesn't cut your hair.

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