I was thinking…

Sometimes my friends brace themselves when I say, “I was thinking…” They know thinking is a dangerous activity, unlike eating and gossiping, which most people seem to prefer. To sit around eating AND gossiping would be a very popular past time, I guess?

I was thinking about gossip, actually. Since sounds travel away from us in sound waves, do the waves just keep going forever? Does everything we ever said still exist in the far reaches of space? And if so, should we not be more careful about what we say?

Here in Pleasantville, probably like in all small communities, gossip is rampant. I was here for  few days when someone expressed amazement that I could walk on my broken leg. “What broken leg?” I asked. So-and-so said you broke your leg,” she answered. ‘Gee, looks like so-and-so lied. Leg’s fine.”

I guess we don’t object to people saying we broke our leg, if we really did break our leg. But I’ve noticed that if nothing is going on, gossips will just make something up. Other gossips pass it on without checking to see if it’s true. But nasty gossip really hurts some people, and we should quit, especially if our words keep going for all eternity.