My dad has narrated the entire drive to school every single morning for as long as I can remember, describing completely mundane things….. a guy walking his dog, a pothole, the same red truck parked in the same spot like he's doing color commentary for a sport nobody else can see. "Look at this guy," he'd say, gesturing at absolutely nothing remarkable, "taking his sweet time at that stop sign. No rush at all. Living his best life." I found it embarrassing for most of middle school, actively asked him to stop twice, got mildly offended silence both times before he started right back up the next morning like the request had never happened. I didn't understand why until I mentioned it to my mom once, annoyed, asking if she could get him to knock it off. She got quiet for a second. "He does that because his own dad drove him to school in total silence, every single day, fifteen years, never said a word the whole ride. He told me once he used to make up stories in his head about the people they passed just to have something to think about besides how quiet it was." I stopped asking him to stop after that. Now I drive my own daughter to school, and somewhere around the second stop sign, unprompted, I hear myself say, "Look at this guy, taking his sweet time," about nothing in particular, and she just stares out the window, half-listening, the exact way I used to.