Listening to the grown-ups

I could hear the droning discussion coming from the other room. I was fiddling around on Facebook, as usual, and Will was nestled, with newspaper, into his favorite nook of the couch. On nights when I stay awake past the kids’ bedtime, this is our typical wind-down routine.

The talking heads on the tube sounded dreadfully boring from where I sat, so it didn’t surprise me that Will was able to divide his attention between the TV and the Wall Street Journal. With resolve, I clicked my way out of the mesmerizing maze of the Web and turned off the computer. I waddled into the living room and approached the television. “You can turn it,” Will offered. “Or turn it off, if you want.”

I was about to stifle the conversation, eager for the “Golden Silence” my mother always raved about when she was my age, but then, to my surprise, I got sucked in. Or, phrased more eloquently, I became engaged in the scintillating dialogue.

It was the Bill Moyers Journal--the very last episode, apparently. Mr. Moyers’ guest was author Barry Lopez. Until last night, I had never heard of either of them. Within 90 seconds of listening, I was thoroughly engrossed in their exchange of ideas, and so I point you in their direction: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04302010/profile.html.

Watching the Moyers-Lopez tête-à-tête felt a bit like college again, in the best sense; an intriguing, intellectual breath of fresh air. I should stay up late more often, sans Facebook. (By the way, here’s my brother-in-law’s solution to FB addiction. I’m not that smart yet.)

Image: "Silence is Golden," by Carl Brenders