" Gotcha"

Civilized life may mean different things to different people. Eating in a restaurant used to be a public event in a semi-private setting. One chose to be with people eating instead of eating at home. It did not mean an opportunity to let your table neighbors in on the family secrets. It sometimes meant a business meeting as well. One did not share business secrets with the entire room. One rarely saw the office desk moved to the restaurant table. The library was once a shhhhh! kind of place. One could consider reading without the distractions of others because the others sought quiet as well. Bathroom stalls were not telephone booths. Well, all that has changed now. Divorce discussions at the next table on a cellphone, the laptop office and the cellphone as dining partners , the laughter and chat in libraries, jokes and weekend plans in hospitals wards. Technology and impoliteness rules the roads, public places, and has eliminated privacy for the individual and the group. "Gotcha!"