Dad’s shout echoed through the neighborhood. Sharp. Loud. Angry. My older brother’s entire name. All three words. His thirteen-year-old face drained of color. “You’re in trouble,” I taunted. “You’re in trouble.” The shout again. This time, my name. My entire name. “What did you do?” he hissed at me. “Nothing. I swear.” “So why is [Continue Reading]
The Fun of Language Skills
Don settled into his chair, tired from the long day. Annual meetings of location managers are an evil business necessity, a mixture of informative and dull, friendly and competitive, fun and excruciating. At least the big boss had picked an excellent Chinese restaurant for the evening’s meal, a chance to relax with the team. Except [Continue Reading]
Enthusiastic Airline Gate Agent
Little Rock, Arkansas, circa 1998 In my hotel room after a late dinner on a Thursday evening, I packed my suitcase for an early morning flight home. The phone rang. The president of our company invited me to travel to Nashville for a Friday lunch meeting before going home to Charlotte. I agreed. Not because [Continue Reading]
Culturally Appropriate Dinner Party Menu
Hosting dinner guests has always been complicated. What are their likes and dislikes? Does anyone have food allergies? Are they vegetarian or vegan? Last week, however, I discovered how complicated the world has become. I am only allowed to serve culturally appropriate meals. Not culturally appropriate for the guests. I can only prepare food that [Continue Reading]
Magic 8 Ball
Each person in the conference room held a Magic 8 Ball, trying to decide why our chief counsel had given them such a strange gift. A former NFL lineman, his physical size intimidated, but Rich brought a good-natured humor to his job of leading our corporate attorney team. The simple toy created laughter as he [Continue Reading]