"Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought To Say"

I believe only some talk is music; the rest is noise. This philosophy of mine has seen my buddies accusing me of going 'out of range' at times. The accusation is - I deliberately tune out of conversations which I, and I alone, perceive to be boring. My own verdict is - I am guilty. Close friends - old and new - say the same...Day in and out, Mom says as much...I can listen to confessions with the patience of a priest or a psychiatrist...I can listen to and share a friend's movie, book, music or play review...I can listen to the monotony of a buddy's life with the right expression plastered on my face, ears perked up and punctuate her talk with appropriate noises...I can listen to the injustices meted out to a colleague, empathising with her/his plight and add a few curse words of my own...I can listen to the PJs of a friend and chuckle...I can listen, and soar high on a buddy's flights of fancy...I can listen, with an indulgence, to a young friend's latest crush and when she says for the seventh time in three years that 'Love - This is it! Trust me, I've never felt this way before!' I trust her...But - and this is where the wilful tuning out happens - I can't endure monologues where the trivial is so inflated that I end up wondering - Why do people talk so much? Why can't they just shut up? Talk, talk, talk - ugh! Shopping travails; unwanted, lack-lustre pearls of wisdom; hackneyed descriptions/experiences of the ordinary world...List is endless...And it is then that I am no longer at ease...And I nod my head, though my eyes with the newly-acquired faraway look betray my boredom as I wear a 'glazed look' and look 'stoned' or 'spaced out'. And this is what bugs them even more - I make it obvious that I ain't interested in the talk. They are exasperated: "You are out of range!", "You are ignoring me! You don't seem interested anymore!" and "OK, won't bore! Get lost!" I smile but I don't have the heart to fake interest and let them carry on...I am glad they've found me out...And grateful that their painful monologue dies an instant death or that they switch over to some interesting stuff or I introduce a new talk by asking a strange and unconnected question out of the blue...After a few four-letter words, they are kind enough to let me be...And I remain grateful for their small mercies...Thank God, one can go 'out of range' with buddies...