I know this is like, probably so dumb, and it's not even a REAL problem, like not compared to what other people post here. But it’s been bugging me, you know? Like, I just can’t shake it. It happened last week, Tuesday, around 3 PM. I had this meeting, a department thing, with a few of the newer profs. And it’s not even a big deal but I keep replaying it in my head, like a broken record. So, okay, it’s about Bill. Professor Henderson. He’s 72. Just a really sweet guy, you know? Kinda old school, wears tweed jackets, smells faintly of pipe tobacco and old books. He’s been here forever, like since I was in grad school myself. And he always tries to chat with the younger folks, be part of things. We were just hanging out after the official meeting part, you know, waiting for the room to clear out. And Bill, he tries to bring up this new paper he’s working on, something about, I dunno, literary theory from the 1800s? Really his wheelhouse, he’s probably written like, twelve books on it. And the new profs, they just… completely blew him off. Not even rude, exactly, more like they just didn't HEAR him. Like, he said "I'm looking at some new interpretations of Byron's letters..." and then this other guy, Dr. Chen, who’s like, 35, jumps in, "Oh, speaking of letters, did you see Dr. Rodriguez's new paper on AI-generated poetry? It’s revolutionary!" And then they were all off to the races, talking about AI and digital humanities and algorithms and like, buzzwords I don't even fully understand, you know? And Bill just kinda, like, shrunk. I saw him take a step back, clear his throat a couple times, and then he just quietly gathered his papers and left. Didn’t say goodbye to anyone. And the thing is, I didn't say anything. I just stood there, kinda nodding along with the younger crowd. Like I was one of them. And I felt AWFUL. Because I’m not even that much younger than Bill, really. I’m 52 this year. My kids are grown, out of the house. My own parents are getting frail. And I just saw myself in him, you know? Like, one day, that’s gonna be ME. I'm going to be the old person with the outdated research trying to connect, and everyone will just talk over me, like I’m invisible. And I didn't even try to help him. I just stood there and watched it happen. It’s just… it’s been bothering me. Like, am I already becoming obsolete? Am I already the one who doesn't get it? I keep thinking about how he looked when he walked out, kinda slumped. And I really like Bill. He was my advisor when I started. And I just… I don't know. It’s a stupid thing to be upset about, I guess. But it just feels so MEAN. And I was part of it, by doing nothing. That’s the part that gets me, I think. Just… UGH.