SOCIAL BUTTERFLY -- WHO, ME?

I know that I have been away for a while.  I wonder if I should fall into the "Tweet" mode and tell you all the gory details of why I was absent, or just let you go on with your lives.  On with your lives, is what I say.  Some of you have an idea of where I was and what I was doing, and because I have that back-up, I'm not worried about the consequences.  
The other part of my life is that I am getting a lot of translation and proof reading work from the translation company with which I am attached by the silver bracelet of 21st century electronic wizardry.  It's an interesting experience reporting to managers who operate nine hours ahead of your very first thought of the day, every day.  Yikes.  I do say that it is an interesting experience.  It has forced me to make changes in my personal schedule.  It has also become a significant challenge to my circadian system.  
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I had an interesting experience the other day and I was reflecting on it a little bit today.  I went to a party which was hosted by a dear friend of mine.  He was celebrating his mother's birthday.  A significant birthday, I must say.  Over 8 decades of life.  That's even more than what I've done.  It was also an opportunity for him and his lovely fiancee to put a definite accent on their engagement.  Needless to say, this was a well attended event.  The food was excellent and plentiful.  The people in attendance were all friendly, as people are wont to be when they are family, or quasi family.  I was there with the Voice from the Kitchen, of course.  We don't know too many of those who were in attendance, but of course, when you're in someone else's house and there are plenty of relatives around, things tend to be copacetic.  But then it struck me, like it had never struck me before.  
In the process of being "nice" to those I met I felt something inside of me that I had never acknowledged before.  In a setting like this, I have a certain amount of palpable energy centered around my eyes.  I also find myself, so I discovered, zeroing in on the eyes of those with whom I am interacting.  This was a few days ago, and I still find myself analyzing the experience.  I get along fairly well in groups of this nature.  I usually try to meet as many new people as possible.  I find that it is safer that way.  The reason is simple.  I am not a very good beater-around-the-bush.  So as I go around meeting more and more people I can just stick to the non-threatening facts and avoid the necessity to be carefully diplomatic.  It is inevitable that now and then the conversation gets a little more serious and that is when I find myself talking to the eyes of the interlocutor.  I find that they let me know the depth of trust that I should invest in the conversation.  This happened to me the other night.  It is very interesting to look back on experiences like this and delve into the "file" to see if I can discover the "take away."  
This latest experience has been good for me.  The centering of my eyes on his and in some mirror kind of exercise, on mine as well.  During the ten minutes or so of the exchange, I found myself making an effort to be cautious of the words to use.   I was guarding the gate lest I use a word that would have carried more truth than I wanted to convey.  This is not altogether new for me, but it is the first time that I really delve into the behavior and try to learn something from it.  I must admit, I am still looking for the complete answer.  A little earlier today I decided that it must just be the New Englander in me.  We don't trust anyone for the first 50 or 60 years, and even then, only with the "small stuff."

I still can't figure out the "eye"part, but it is true, and it does work.  Maybe that's where my conscience is.