Nicolas was sitting in the waiting room Monday morning. He had brought four magazines with him, in case the mechanics had to spend all day fixing his car. His portable Sony radio was on, and one earbud was stuck in his right ear. A customer came into the waiting room. Nicolas overheard the customer talking to Harold, the service representative. The customer was from Milford, the same little town that Nicolas was from. After the customer and Harold had finished talking, Harold went back outside.

Nicolas thought he would introduce himself. He said, "I heard that you are from Milford." The young man nodded. "Are you going to the parade on Wednesday?" Nicolas asked.

"What parade?" the man asked. Wednesday was the fourth of July. Nicolas wondered if he was talking to someone who just happened to be visiting Earth on his way to Pluto.

"Didn't you say you live in Milford?" Nicolas asked. The man nodded. "How long have you lived there?" Nicolas asked. Five years, the man replied.

"And you've never been to the Fourth of July parade?" Nicolas asked. The man shook his head. He seemed totally uninterested in continuing the conversation, although all he was doing was watching cars drive by on the nearby street.

Oh well, I tried to be neighborly, Nicolas thought, as he put the earbud back in his ear and opened one of his magazines.