So many things you don't need to know.

About and hour ago tonight I was made re-aware of something most of us do, which we probably shouldn't: relay bad news. In this case I had gone to give our outside cat her late-night treat. While she usually bounds up to the stoop, tonight she was busy gnawing on a mouse that she had just killed—always a disturbing sight. When I came back in, I almost said to my partner, "Glynis has killed another mouse." Then it occurred to me, why does he need to know that? As an ardent lover of all animals, including mice, it will only leave him with a gloomy vision at bedtime. So I didn't say anything and began to wonder why we are so quick to convey bad news. How many people have darkened your day with reports of a relative, friend, or spouse who died of cancer? Someone you didn't even know. How often has someone described a disastrous situation completely unrelated to you, or a tragedy that you could do nothing about? "The lady down the street was robbed and they stabbed her fifty times." is not something you need to know. Nor is, "They predict this will be the hottest summer of the century, and we'll probably get three hurricanes." I wonder why we are so eager to impart bad news. Oh, well, it's something to think about.