‘Speech is silver.’ Or is it? Like many other proverbs, this is not always true. Generally speaking I tend to be on the silent side and hate people who talk too much, especially those who seem to be in love with their own voices and would not allow anyone to edge a single word in. They are completely oblivious to the reaction of their listeners who may look bored, yawn, fidget in their seats, look at their watches, or pick up any reading matter at hand … all such obvious signals are completely lost on them. Nothing could be worse than to find oneself alone with such a person. If you have to suffer, it is much better to suffer in the company of some fellow suffers, for any suffering can be made lighter when shared. When you find yourself the lone target your suffering would seem to be magnified, your boredom would be even greater, the speaker’s grating voice even more grating, and the time passes even more slowly. When you finally summon enough courage to say goodbye, your tormentor will say: “One more thing … ” and this one more thing will turn out to be a very long-winded and pointless thing. What’s more, after this “one more” thing there will inevitably be another “one more thing”, and another, and another … You’ll have to literally tear away.