'nice for life'?

Village pubs always worry me, because
a) you always bump into someone you know, and
b) anything you say in the pub, is accepted as common knowledge, and is fair game to gossip.

It was a friend's birthday and we went for a meal at the local, who have started serving Indian food. On the next table was my teacher from primary school. On the next table was my friend's uncle.
So we were talking, and it felt so awkward. I didn't want my primary school teacher to report back that I was now a loud-mouthed, drunken meal-wrecker. I didn't want to make it obvious that I knew it was him either. So I had to act oblivious.
Four vodka and cokes later, It was, admittedly easier. And noisier, on our table.

But it made me wonder - how many people do you know in a certain place at any one time?
It's a small world when you think about it.
I met a classmate at a street market in Tunisia. My friend was on the same flight back from Tenerife as someone in her history class. My grandparents met someone from their street on a cruise.

So that got me thinking even more - how much have I said about people that they've directly heard? So I've decided to be nice, starting now.

Think of it as a 'mid-year resolution' because we all know that new-year ones never stick.