My favorite "non sequitur" smalltalk strategy might work (m)

The scene you describe would then go something like this:

Casual waiting room acquaintance: "I saw your son's picture on the cover of Indy's Child! He's so photogenic!"

You: "Yes, the boy does love a camera."

CWRA: "It's so great that the magazine had such a cover--that's progress, you wouldn't have seen that twenty years ago."

You: "We were glad the picture came out so well."

See, you're not actually agreeing with the second comment--you're not even responding to it, exactly. But you're not leaving the other party hanging or confused either, which would be rude. If the other party is someone you know and someone who would definitely like to know the details, great; but otherwise, you can be kind and honest in these situations, without getting into the details.

We use the non sequitur responses all the time. It's a variation on "that's nice of you to say," or "a lot of people say that"--it doesn't mean you agree with the speaker, only that you recognize their comments are meant to be nice/polite/supportive (even if they really aren't).

Penny