I Like Old Fashioned Things

[b]THE GENERATION GAP - or should that be BOTTOMLESS GULF[/b]

A young thing of about 20 tried to chat me up.

She was no doubt Impressed by the hoary head (supposed to represent wisdom though this is touch and go in my case) and the noble bearing (I had left my walking stick at home and was working hard not to look bent).

She had all her chat-up lines all ready. The conversation went as follows:

[b]HER[/b] Do you work out?

[b]ME[/b] No, I mostly work at home.

[b]HER[/b] Err, like... Have you been tweeting a lot recently?

[b]ME[/b] I went through a phase when I was about two and a half when I thought I was a bird - but since then, no, I haven't.

[b]HER[/b] Like... like... Do you use?

[b]ME[/b] Use?

[b]HER[/b] No, like, do you like use?

[b]ME[/b] Do I like to use what?

Staring into the middle distance, I waited for an answer, But when I looked towards her, she was moving away. I just heard her repeating "Like... like" as she disappeared.

It sounded as if she liked me.

But apparently I didn't make the grade.

Just as well - I don't know what we would have talked about if we had clicked.