Some of the kids are still alright

With apologies to Roger and Pete, it brings me joy to say so.  We’re so used to imbibing wall-to-wall doom & gloom about the future prospects for our children, we’re blind to the good news, even when it’s sitting right  next to us.

That’s happened here a couple of times of late. Back a few months ago, during the height of high summer, we found ourselves on the patio at the Erie Belle, a seafood joint down Kincardine way we’ve been patronizing sporadically for at least thirty years, whenever we’re down Kincardine way.

There’s a boisterous gaggle of twenty-somethings in the street in front of us. Two-three couples and maybe 3-4 singles, but all one happy, ethnically diverse crew, vaping their way down the street, and about the time our drinks arrive, they arrive at the other end of the patio.

They’re a little on the noisy side for our ears, but by golly there’s an animated conversation happening over there about what sounds to me like office politics. Fifteen minutes in we concluded they were co-workers from some high-tech outfit in Waterloo, just an hour down the road, but here’s what was so amazing; in the hour or so we shared that patio, none of them ever pulled out or consulted any “device.”

That gives me hope.  I made a point of mentioning that on my way out. I’m guessing they marveled at how little it takes to give an aging boomer hope! 

Fast forward to this morning in one of our favorite local joints, Dockside Willies, named after the famous rodent, Wiarton Willie. The Farm Manager had a brutal week in her day job, and we were down for a quiet breakfast. We weren’t settled into our window seats, overlooking Wiarton harbour and Colpoys Bay, more than a few minutes, when a crew of six kids, barely if at all out of their teens, take the next table. 

Believe it or not, none of that crew ever consulted any device in the 45 minutes we shared their space, and while we weren’t “evesdropping” per se, their chit chat was mostly about the jobs they had and a couple of recent job interviews. Clearly, these are kids not hiding in parental safe houses seeking comfort in their video games and AI therapists.

Maybe it’s easier to find engagement with the real world in these rural communities, where most of the folks still trust their neighbours.