A Quiet Dinner With Pogo

When was the last time you played the role of the "obnoxious other" we all find easy to criticize?

I've lost count how many times my wife and I have been dining somewhere while a crowd of others intruded on our quiet conversation. Sound familiar? But comeupance is rarely far away if you pay close attention. While dining with a group of eight recently, I paid little attention to how loud our conversation was until glancing briefly at the faces of a couple alone nearby. Their faces registered a look I recognized - a look I'd leveled at others many times in the past. Pogo's words rang loudly in my ear: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

On our way out of the restaurant, I apologized to the couple. They taught me a second lesson I hope I'll remember the next time I'm in the reverse situation: They graciously said the noise hadn't disturbed them.