The other time I talked about the old man in my building who keeps repeating the same stereotyped phrases and sentences. I conjectured that he was probably parked there by some relative who couldn’t take care of him. Clearly, whatever mental issue he might be suffering from, loneliness is not helping, as he can go the whole day saying the same things over and over.

Yesterday two kids dropped by–I assume his grandkids or nephews. They’ve been playing and yelling and laughing the whole time. Strangely enough, this seems to have broken through the crust of repetition that has clotted up this man’s life. He hasn’t said a single one of his usual phrases. Instead, for the first time, I heard him talk regularly and more or less coherently.

I’m not going to read any trite moral into this. It is just a pleasant observation.