The whole thing makes more sense when you think about how plants react to bugs and stuff... they put off different smells depending on what's chewing on them. Talking probably just shakes up the air and gets them moving, which can't hurt. My neighbor swears his roses do better since he started chatting with them on his morning walk.

Man, that's a gut punch. I've definitely scribbled a few of those notes and felt like a jerk later, so you're not alone there.

Wiped my brain clean of every cringe moment except one from 2011 where I waved back at someone who was actually waving at the person behind me, so I just stood there in a parking lot waving at air like a broken robot. The real kicker is the guy behind me waved back too, so for one beautiful second there were two idiots waving at nobody. Honestly your thing about 25 is spot on, something clicks where you realize everyone is the star of their own dumb movie and you are just a background extra in theirs. I still think about that parking lot wave maybe twice a year and now it just makes me laugh instead of wanting to move to another state. Saying you too to a waiter is basically a rite of passage, that guy forgot about it before your food even got cold.