I'm not sure my idea would constitute a social experiment or just good business.

Have you ever waited for 20 or 30 minutes in a crowded restaurant lobby for your table for two, but then are offered a table for four? And you take it, leaving two empty seats? I have often questioned why the restaurants don't make an effort to fill their tables and shorten their wait lists by offering a "shared" table to willing customers.

All customers would not see the advantage in this but there are times in restaurants that two people sit together and barely say two words to each other over lunch or dinner. Think of the friendships that might sprout if you agreed to share a table. We succeeded in this effort when one of the cruise ships visited New London. We went downtown for lunch, two of us sitting at a table for four, when two visitors from the ship looked past us, trying to find a seat. We offered to share our table and we met and visited with a delightful couple from Yorkshire.

We recently saw this experiment repeated in a lounge, not quite enough room at a table for two more people, but with a willingness to share the space. Bingo! New conversations and new friends.

It makes sense, doesn't it?

Joan Ryken

Salem