At the travel center in Älvängen, Arletta and I made a stop last night. We were hungry. So we each opened a bowl of salad we’d saved when we had lunch at Mimers Hus in Kungälv where we sat working during the day.
At Mimers Hus, many people, both young and old, spend their time. A colorful wall with pictures by Carolina Falkholt lights it up. There is also a cultural residence host, who helps when needed and his presence probably contributes to creating a certain calm. Yes, the youngsters were around and were a bit lively sometimes, but there seemed to be some confidence and a little twinkle of fun in their eyes.
At the travel center in Älvängen things were a bit more messy. But there were no responsible adults in place either. We did eat our salad in peace. But the room was smoky. We wondered a bit about what they were smoking. It did not smell smoke, but there was a lot of it. We felt quite ignorant.
We felt even more ignorant as we saw the boys kiss each other on the mouth as it seeemed. In fact, they blew smoke into each other’s lungs.
Things got somewhat bumpy in the room and we felt a bit like aliens. It was not quite pleasant. Is this perhaps the case:
The youth of our day appear ruthless, despise authorities, have no respect for elderly people and speak when they should work. The youngsters no longer get up when older people enter a room. They oppose their parents, boast, devour their dessert at the dinner table, cross their legs and tyrannize their teachers. (Socrates, 400 BC)
Or is this how we grow alien to the young and they to us? We have no idea what they are doing and because we do not ask, they see no reason to open up to us about their secrets. Why would they even try to communicate with us?
Maybe it’s time to start communicating?
When we’d had our salad and left the colorless waiting room, we went to the Coop shop in Älvängen to buy some fruit.
Ellington
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