My dentist and my hairdresser like to engage in chit chat while they perform their job. My dentist takes great care in asking questions that I can answer with a grunt. She takes the tools away from my mouth sensibly when she expects a longer answer. In this way the whole teeth cleaning process is very civilized, though I’d much rather close my eyes and get it over with.
Slightly different with the hairdresser. I have gone to her only three times in two years but she remembers that I teach piano and I am a poet. She remembers my father and my children. We speak as if we have known each other for years. Only sometimes I wonder if it is at all necessary to talk.
If we run into each other in the street chances are we would just say hello.
