Coffee on the Hotel Porch

The power went out this morning, so I reheated my coffee at a neighbor's home which was on a different electrical grid, and carried my coffee cup to the Hotel Lakeside porch. I overheard this little tidbit from the retired folks a few chairs away.

Describing her son to the couple at the same table, she said, "He's a liberal Democrat, peacenik vegetarian at Oberlin College. I love my son, but he's very self-righteous. He can't imagine how anyone can think differently than he does. I respect his beliefs, but he doesn't respect mine." The other couple were retired professors from a major university (everyone was talking loudly, so I'm not spreading gossip here). They sighed and commiserated. The wife said, "Imagine being Republicans in our town! We have lovely friends whose company we enjoy. They are so liberal and worried that their 48 year old son is showing tendencies of a conservative--like he had a disease or something. They can't fathom that anyone believes differently than they do." To ease her friend's fears she told her, "Even a little to the right of you seems conservative, so you probably needn't worry."