There is this phenomenon related to husbands. Perhaps to wives as well. I don’t know about that – not having one. But if you want him to start talking, get busy doing something else.

Let me give you an example. We are on a road trip of just about 300 miles heading to Northern California. He is listening to the radio. I have an audiobook loaded on my phone (note – for those of you who haven’t located them yet – iTunes no longer drops audiobooks in the Music App but has filed them into iBooks. More than a few minutes of digging on their help site to find that little gem). We start moving past NPR range. I have lost interest in the radio programming which never takes more than a few minutes at the best of times and put on my head phones, being polite and not wanting to disturb him.

Not more than 3 minutes later, he starts to talk. I take off the headphones. The conversation doesn’t last more than a couple of minutes. Ask hime if there is anything else? No. I put my headphones back on. This time it is almost five minutes before we run through the cycle. The next time 2 minutes, the time after that 7, 5, 3, 1, 8 …. you get the idea. Any idea how many times this cycle could be repeated in a five + hour car trip? After almost loosing count (will we make 25 interruptions?) I finally ask him what is going on.

He looks at me blankly. I said I would love to chat, otherwise I was listening to my audiobook.

Oh.

Did he realize that he was starting up on the average of every four minutes? Talking would be wonderful; if not I was trying to follow a story line. I’m not a teenager or early 20s. I don’t have one ear bud in as a routine part of my life so that some loud incomprehensible noise is providing a soundtrack to my every move and thought. I listen to professional podcasts or audiobooks, some of which require concentration.

Conversation followed by quiet listening. Which lasted till we hit the Redwoods when the cycle started over with comments on passing Parks….