So much happens at breakfast when I’m out and about.  Yesterday a woman probably in her 60’s sat with a younger man.  I’m guessing they were mother and son.  As they talk, she whips out a pack of cigarettes and offers him one.  And off they continue chatting, puffing away together.

I was shaken.  Huh?  It didn’t fit my picture of modern days.  Was the behaviour bad?  No, just unhealthy.

And now today.  I was sitting in a breakfast spot that I’ve frequented for over a year. As yogurt presented its glories to me, I had a thought: the two owners have never called me by name.  I always say “Hi, _____” to them.

When I was paying, I decided to be brave.  “Do you know my name?”  >  “Bruce.”  >  “I’ve noticed you never call me by name.  In fact that’s true of a lot of Belgian people who know me.”

The owner gave me a confused look and said something like “I’ve never thought about it.  I never call people by name unless I want them to listen to what I’m saying.”

***

So there we have it

It’s different here … in many ways

And that’s okay

I’ll keep calling people by name

And avoiding cigarette smoke