Potato Chips

Here's a conversation I had last night.

As a pre-cursor, I'll explain that we are discussing hanger-markers for choir robes. I made giant circles to hang on the robe hangers so everyone could easily find THEIR robe and not someone else's. The circles had each person's name and robe number marked on it.

"I have a slight problem."

"Yeah, I saw that you marked two different robe numbers so I just picked one of them. If you'd like the other, it can easily be changed."

"Yes, see, I have robe number 9 (In his hand with the marker that has 17 written on it) but I want number 17."

"Ok. That's really easy. Just go get robe number 17 and put this marker on that hanger. Problem solved."

"But this one's mine."

"Number 9?"

"Yes."

"So number 9 is the one you want?"

"Yes."

"Ok. That's an easy fix, too."

I take the hanger with his name and #17 and mark out the 1, change the 7 to a 9 and hang it back on his #9 robe hanger.

"There ya go. Problem solved."

"Awwwwww, did you just write number 9 on there?"

"Umm....yes."

"I wanted number 17."

Did you ever have one of those conversations?

You know the one where you realize that even though the person is using English-language WORDS, to them they must all have different meanings?

Like to THEM, they're saying "want" but what they really mean is "potato chip" or they say "17 and what they really mean is "high heeled shoe".

I have someone in my daily life who communicates like this. I understand all the words, but not in the same way he/she means them. I'm having a conversation and speaking on the explanation level I would use with my 2 year old to make absolutely sure I'm understood and yet the responses make no sense in context.

"How are you doing today?"

"I rode an airplane a month ago."

"Really? Where was it going?"

"Oh, I'm not really sure, but I think spaghetti."

I'm working on a translation dictionary. It's gonna be very valuable. Maybe I'll make my millions with it.

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie