internet and potatoes

Sitting this morning for an hour and a half in Bel Forno, one of my haunts a few years ago until, I don't know, something about the stuffiness of the back room on the warm days we were having then pushed me further down Shattuck. It's definitely outside the orbit of the majority of the student population...

As I sat down with my coffee, I was struck by a conversation going on between a early 20s-ish guy stooped a bit over his white Macbook and an early 50s-looking woman who had just settled in next to him, both on the booth-style chairs that line the countertop along the side wall of the cafe's interior. Kind of half underground, with the sidewalk slanting down in front of your very eyes, eyes at knee-level of those walking by.

She was asking how his computer worked when it wasn't plugged in. And what was the Internet, anyway? In one breath, he tried to explain how it was that the battery powered the battery, AND it was connected to the internet, which was, this thing, kind of like a network, and you don't need a cable to use it, see, 'cuz, well, it's kind of like a radio station and your computer has this little antenna inside it, and it lets you keep in touch wi--

But surely this wasn't news? Hasn't everyone heard of the internet? Do these kinds of conversations still happen in 2010? In an "internet cafe" in Berkeley, California?

They were getting near what was to be the end of their conversation (little did I know at that time but...)

Man on computer: "You gotta make balance happen in your life, I think. It's good to interact with other human beings."
Woman eating breakfast: (jokingly) "Are you a humanoid? Me too!!" (jokingly)
Man: "Yeah..."

And then the conversation dies down and the woman goes back to eating her potatoes. Quietly, the ketchup dispenser suddenly standing out as it stood right next to her plate, unused, untouched. Munching the croissant with one hand, taking regular bites, she looked out the large window at a fairly nondescript grey morning outside. The parking lot of the CVS pharmacy--the old Longs Drugs, until they went out of business. Someone walks by with a dog, and she doesn't seem to notice.

The guy coughs, leans back, and then back closer to the screen. In the meantime, he's been doing whatever he's doing on the computer. Whatever it is that we do on computers.

Time passes.

Classical music playing, the shuffle of newspapers behind me, and a few muted conversations. 10 minutes later, the woman has finished her breakfast, and continues gazing outside.