10th verse, same as the first

It's an interesting phenomena.  People repeat themselves under certain circumstances.  I suppose the most recurrent circumstance for repetition of stories or information is from those people called the elderly.  They repeat the stories that happened to them so often that they become hard to be around. A person can recite by heart what the stories are as soon as the elder person begins to talk.  This happens for a variety of reasons, but one is that in their world they no longer encounter events that cause the brain to remember.  Their world has become narrow.  Some people like to blame the effect of age on the brain, but the last word is not in on the role that age alone plays in the memory process.

But today, a person who was half my age told me a story that he has told on two other occasions.  So, what is the reason he wanted to take up about 20 minutes of my time recounting something he was well aware of having told me?  Generally, people speak unprompted for the reason of selling themselves, of showing that they have importance and value.  They want to take up your time convincing you that something they did sets them apart from the crowd and you should be proud to have them as your friend.  I have told him of his value the first two times he told the story.  He apparently needed to have that verified yet again.

After the 3rd time, I usually find a quick escape from the scene, but if not, at least from the story.  You don't have to toot your own horn anymore.  If I am with you by choice, you have importance to me.  It's really that simple.  Save your breath, pipe down, and join me with the matters at hand.  We're friends already.