Their clocks and rhythms abused by jet travel and long days, they arrived at a restaurant for dinner at four thirty. No other customers were present. A young employee methodically went from table to table, wiping down every seat and table top. They already appeared clean, so he watched her, marveling at her attention and focus. She never looked up or slowed.

A large piece of bread was on the carpeted floor, the only object out of place in the clean, modern restaurant. He waited to see if she would deviate to pick up the bread. She did not. From her activity, he didn’t believe she even looked at the bread, causing him to ponder her motivation, conjecturing that the cleaning could be punishment, but doubtful that someone would levy such a juvenile punishment on an employee. More reasonably, he thought, cleaning the tables and chairs was her task.

Cleaning the floor was not.

Her brain is wired differently. We can tell by how she expresses herself. Her self-view of her self-worth and interactions is surprising and even disturbing. So, we ask, whose brain is wired the same?

Some lack those controls over being empathetic. Others are missing connections, components or chemicals that help identify directions or faces, or remember words.

“Try harder,” we urge, “teach to the test,” as though any of those exhortations can fix the brain’s complexities.

Tell you, what though, watching and listening to children remains the best brain food. Maybe second-best, to music. Or third, to writing. Maybe fourth, to reading. Or sleeping.

Guess it depends on whose brain we’re talking about.

These people don’t know her. Marching in place, she’ll never see them again, she believes. But – doubts linger.