Why don’t the ‘monologuers’ get it?

RE: Human interaction

It is quite remarkable to find that some retirees (strangers or nodding acquaintances), encountered while dog-walking, are diehard “monologuers.” After a quick greeting they don’t engage in upbeat casual conversation. Instead they become focused on talking only about themselves. You could be Attila The Hun’s great great great grandson or Vladimir Putin, out for a stroll, for all they know or care.

One chap launched into a 10-minute harangue about his multitude of troubles and then announced he had to go. Another complained about the evil effects of religion on the world and why, at 86, he gave up church. Abruptly he rose from the park bench and hobbled off, leaning on his cane, his pet poodle reluctantly trailing behind. Still others are obsessed with explaining such specialized wisdom as knowing the only sensible, sure way to coach the Tiger-Cats to glory, or the person who says he was singled out as being an irreplaceable on-call star expert over a 30-year career.

I’m sure that psychologists would have a ready explanation as to why some retirees have lost the art of casual two-way conversation. But as a minimum, they could point out how tiresome these well-meaning, largely unaware, “monologuers” truly are. Jim McDonald, Dundas