If you ever want to test an object (a fence, an appliance, a wire, etc.) for live electrical current, lightly tap it with the back of your hand. If it's live, your arm will contract and curl away from the source, whereas if you use the palm of your hand on a live object, your muscles will contract around it and you'll be much worse off, if not dead. I learned that when I was nine or ten on a science museum field trip.
I realized yesterday that I do something similar to a woman with whom I must deal on a regular basis. I use a conventional greeting––"Hello, how are you?"––like the back of my hand: politeness expended just to assess how hazardous or volatile her mood is for the day. Sigh.
2 comments:
The meaningless IMO "I'm fine, thank you" does not exist in some cultures. For instance, when Krzystof Kieslowski visited the USA he was often asked how he was, he would reply "I'm so-so." This surprised Americans but this how we usually reply in Poland, or rather we reply thruthfully. If you're not feeling well, you say so. If your mood is neither depressed nor elevated, you just say that you're so-so.
Good advice! I shall remember!
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