Memories of Family Dinner Times.
When I was a kid, nine years old or so, at the table at dinner time, which happened to be the most significant moment of the day, we all, the family, gathered around the table. The dinner table had mandatory salt and pepper shakers and an oil and vinegar dispenser set. Sometimes, there were flowers on the table and a bottle of wine on special occasions. And then, over dinner, the conversation, the catching up with the day's events, the laughing and the crying. We were humans. Those moments, I see now from a distance of time. And from this distance, they seem magical now. And they are all gone. The family, the gathering over dinner, the conversations, and even the salt and pepper shakers have gone from the table, gone with the wind. Cell phones and TV remote control are replacing them nowadays. However, dinner-time family gatherings still seem animated—although it's a soulless animation regardless of what they are watching or listening to.