As I delicately sliced off a scrap of my medium-rare tri-tip roast, my attention was distracted by a nearby couple, certainly not delicately slicing anything but my nerves.  It was actually a woman and her young daughter.  A thin, white cord connected Mom’s earphones to her phone, and every few minutes, she entertained a new call.  Social calls, not necessarily between bites.  She stared straight ahead at Daughter, who was entertaining herself with a coloring book.  Between calls, she’d talk to Daughter, and they appeared to have a normal conversation… for about three minutes at a time.  What I found interesting was that the daughter could tell when the call stopped, even though Mom remained in her comatose, forward-looking pose.  It was difficult for me to identify the segues, but somehow Daughter was all too familiar with the behavior.  I found it sad that this was probably considered “quality time” between Mom and Daughter.  At least it wasn’t McDonald’s.