I listened to a woman yesterday who could have used a lesson in brevity. It's amazing how people spend thirty thousand years on introduction when their message is approximately a paragraph long. I hated her tone. I disliked her glasses. I believed she talked much too long. I resented her body language.
And I think she was right.
I hate it. Why on earth does someone I agree with have to talk in such an alarmingly irritating way?
To satisfy all of you curious darlings and to keep this topic from bubbling too long in my head while I try to think of something innocuous to write, she was talking about war. BrilliantEditor and I went to Quaker meeting. (It's obviating me of Catholic guilt about not going to church while I self-indulgently become a part of a pacifist a group.)
In Quaker meeting, people tend to speak when they're spoken to by God. If you've got something to say that you think you might have thought of on your own, you can say it after the silent part is officially over. That's when MissPompiss got on her allergy inducing high horse.
She said, and I am seriously squashing this down, that demanding troops just leave Iraq would be less than clever since the acquiescence to similar demands in Vietnam led to 1.5 million deaths.
Yep. That's the short version. An excellent observation, I must say. (Check me out! How much intro necessary for one big sentence?! I'm so amazingly consistent.)
Another reason for me to be annoyed: so, my dear, do you have a plan?
She spoke for five to ten minutes, which is quite a long time for an impromptu address to people with children yanking on them. And she didn't have a plan. Why why why don't we ever have plans when we've got good-ish ideas?
I suppose it isn't up to her to develop foreign policy. I also suppose, however, that it would be helpful to offer to meet afterward and make some suggestions. She said she's been in the anti-war movement for twenty-five years and is embarrassed that she wanted troops out. Period.
I'm curious, though, to know if there's something more than a fantasy of happy people in her head. I'm sure there is. I'm also sure I didn't have to listen to it.
I was getting fidgety and my shoes were too loud to walk out.
nonsense
Since seriousness is not an attractive thing for me to wear, I will share with you a non sequitur of extraordinary proportions.
I made my lunch today. A very complicated and much envied recipe.
So when I went to cut the PB&J sandwich in half, which I don't usually do, I didn't know if I should cut it long ways or diagonally. And then I wondered why people don't cut it horizontal ways.
If you cut it horizontal ways and you only like the top of the bread, you can have a whole side of a sandwich that will make you happy while you can surgically remove the bottom of the bread with your knife.
I ended up cutting it long ways because my mother always cut it diagonally. And when you go for the diagonal ways, there are always those corners with none of the middle of the sandwich in them.
That just isn't right.
Posted by dotty at August 30, 2004 08:40 PM