Overheard: Foot, meet mouth

Considering they can't walk, talk, sign a check or run for office, babies wield tremendous power. One flash of those bright eyes, one toothless smile, one trembling lower lip, and those around them are reduced to gibbering, blabbering, goo-goo-eyed piles of mush.

So it was with great admiration that I watched a baby win over a fellow diner the other day. Smiles were exchanged among the grown-ups as the woman babbled cheerfully at the child in the high chair. But when the baby's reaction was less than she expected, she explained to the parents: "I only have boys, so I'm not used to talking to girls." To which...