to listen

on my daily walk to town and back,
i often stop for a rest at a hearing-aid outlet along the way
of course, they provide a client seating area
the receptionist is friendly and courteous
it's just about the right point in the journey to sit for a few minutes
and....
there's a bowl of complimentary candies at the counter
for those of us in our second, third (or more) childhood

today i observed an elderly fellow accompanied by his wife
it seemed the man was there to attend to his hearing problem
his wife was trying her best to relate to him the information offered by the receptionist
i could clearly hear what was being said
his wife could clearly hear what was being said
his wife was repeating the exact message from the receptionist

he just didn't want to listen !

not only did he have trouble with his hearing
he also seemed to have a big-time listening problem !