Aging has made me a wiser man. I now know how to translate what a friend, spouse or colleague really wants to say to me. I only focus on what comes after the BUT.
A few examples:
WIFE: “Honey, it’s so nice of you to do the vacuuming around the house, BUT you might want to use the hose on the corners to catch the dirt that has piled up all week.”
Message I hear after the BUT: If you can’t do a decent job on something as simple as vacuuming, don’t do it at all.
FRIEND: “I can’t wait to hear the rest of your story, BUT take a break and begin eating your stew before it gets cold.”
Message I hear after the BUT: Shut your trap for a minute and let me say a word or two.
COLLEAGUE: “Congratulations on closing the big Robinson Publishing sale, BUT wouldn’t it have been great to have wrapped it up last quarter?”
Message I hear after the BUT: Charlie is pissed we didn’t get the bonus last quarter and thinks I was a slouch for not pressing earlier.
Am I onto something? What do you think?
In conclusion, I appreciate all the responses you send me, which are often more shrewd and clever than my original posts and with no grammatical errors, BUT can you toss me a few dangling modifiers and illogical conclusions to keep up my self esteem?
Self-talk aloud