Bragging or Sharing

There is a difference between bragging and sharing. Bragging is meant to impress. Sharing is meant to inform people that are interested. At the town pool yesterday, I saw a classic example of both. I was sitting with a group of friends discussing what was new. One of the friend's daughters had just become a doctor. We have known this girl since she was 10 years old so everyone was so happy to see the graduation pictures and hear about her new position. This was a typical example of sharing. An hour later, a man we know as an acquaintance walked over to the group of us and said, "My daughter is having Chinese food for dinner". We all nodded as we had no idea why he was saying this. Again he said, "My daughter is having Chinese food for dinner". We all stared at him blankly. Then he said the "punchline". "She is having Chinese food, because she is in Beijing, China!" We all looked at him and said, "Nice", and nothing else. What was there to say. He then walked away. This was a typical example of bragging. As one woman in the group said, "Anyone can buy a ticket to China. Not everyone can become a doctor".