I think I've just discovered a new quirk of mine: I get real uncomfortable when people start airing out their 'dirty laundry' in front of me!
Angie, for example, who I just told you about. And just now, Bill, as we'll call him.
Bill is a plumber who paid a visit to our house today to fix our garbage disposal. Bill is a nice guy and a very good plumber - he fixed our disposal and only charged us $89 for 15 minutes of work. (Which deserves a blog post all by itself!)
I was surprised how much I learned about Bill while he was crawling around underneath our kitchen sink.
He lives in Bedford and has 2 kids. And, at the moment, Bill is working 2 jobs because he and his wife want to eventually own a home once she gets out of the penitentiary. Er, excuse me? Did you say 'penitentiary'?
"Oh, she ain't violent or none of that! White collar crime. She's actually a wonderful woman!"
OK, pause. It's at this point in the conversation when my quirky uncomfortableness kicks in. And the reason is because I don't know what to say. How are you supposed to respond to something like that?
Option 1 - Lie so that Bill doesn't feel uncomfortable: "Hey, whose wife hasn't spent a little time in 'the big house'. In fact, they keep coming to pick up my wife because she never calls her parole officer! That crazy girl!"
Option 2 - Try to sound interested: "Cool! What'd she do?"
Option 3 - Stay positive: "Keep up the hard work, Bill. You'll get that house someday!"
Option 4 - Abruptly change the subject: "So . . . uh . . . crazy weather, huh?"
As you all know, I'm most likely to use Option 4!
It's not that I don't want to hear about other people's dirty laundry or discover which skeletons are in thier closet. It's just that when they throw it out there in casual conversation . . . it catches me so off-gaurd that it's hard for me to respond . . . well, casually!
So if you're ever talking to me and I suddenly comment on the 'crazy weather' without using an appropriate transition statement, then don't get upset. It's just that I have no idea how to respond to whatever it is you just said.
4 comments:
Wade, you should write a book-you have some funny encounters with people out in the big ole world!
Hey Suz,
What's the deal? Do I have, "Come spill your guts to me" written on my forehead?
I guess I really don't mind. Like you said, it gives me something to laugh about.
TFSB,
W
I have found that having a baby somehow opens you up to lots of strangers disclosing embarrassing (to me at least) information to you. You might want to prepare your wife for such events!
Hey Kate,
You're right! I've already noticed that a lot of people suddenly feel free to just walk up and talk to us about our baby and ultimately thier baby.
A real sweet lady who works at at the Chick-Fil-A in Hurst talked to Kelly and I for almost 10 minutes covering about 15 different topics.
It was kinda of funny when she mentioned how much The Lord has blessed her family this year and then told us that she hoped she hadn't just offended us by mentioning 'The Lord'.
Kelly and I wanted to say, "Oh no, we're Christians, too!"
The sad thing is that she felt like she had to apologize just because she mentioned 'The Lord'!
But you're right!
Thanks for stopping by,
W
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