It Had To Be Said

Have you ever made the mistake of saying something and realizing it’s the wrong thing just when it’s too late to stop, do you admit your mistake or just roll with the flow hoping to save face, I think the most of us do all we can to save face knowing full and well that it is not working.

One familiar scene that a lot of us have seen is the pregnant woman, or was she actually pregnant? Walking down the hall of the hospital I saw a man with his young son, the child pointed and said to his Dad, Look Dad that lady is going to have a baby, the Dad smiled and explained to his son that he was right and went on to explain pregnancy to him, then to add to the story he asked, When is your baby due, the reply was “My son was born yesterday” that’s him there, pointing into the nursery window.

Now how do you recover from this one, do you apologize and keep walking or do you explain to your son why she still looks pregnant? I don’t think there is an answer for this one, probably best to just keep walking.

Things my Dad says, this one I could write a whole book on as I have seen him slip out with a few comments that just couldn’t be taken back in time, like the time he argued with a clerk at the grocery store for charging him tax on his purchase, this was in Texas and the clerk explained that no tax was charged on food items, and since he was buying beer it was a taxable item, rather than thanking her for explaining he went on to argue that beer could be considered food, I think I got there and moved him along just before security arrived, yes he paid tax on his purchase and since he tried to cover his actions by offering to take her out to dinner, I had to start buying my groceries at another store.

At a convenience store in South Carolina he and I went in to get a cup of coffee, I picked up a few things and paid for our stuff, Dad went to the counter and was told that his coffee was paid for, he smiled and said Thank You Sir, the clerk told him I am not a sir please don’t call me that, Dad sat his coffee down and asked the clerk to repeat what was said and then went on to explain that he was raised to say Yes Sir, No Sir, Yes Mam and No Mam and that he would not apologize for doing so.

The clerk said “This is all well and good but I am not a sir” Dad started getting a little agitated so I apologized to the clerk and said Sorry Mam, you have a good day and I’ll see you tomorrow, she smiled and as we went out the door Dad looked at me and said “I can’t believe you called him Mam” I told him I can’t believe you called her Sir, he said that he was in the store every day and knew these people so he knew it was a man, I told him I am a visitor here and my first time in the store I noticed her name tag said Brenda.

He had to go back in just to check, and the sad thing is I think he still called her sir.

Sometimes you just have to pay attention to the little things, noticing a name tag and calling a person by their name shows you care, holding a door for someone, thanking them for explaining or just choosing not to argue a point when you are clearly wrong will help you look better than trying to get a date with someone that is charging you tax on beer, looking into the nursery window and asking “Which one is yours” rather than “When are you due” when a woman is in a hospital gown dragging an IV with her, because this could be a sign that she is not pregnant anymore, and sometimes the biggest thing you can do to keep the peace is to place your hand over my Dad’s mouth when you are out in public with him, Lord knows I try.

Sorry Dad but it had to be said.