Anyone who knows me knows that I can be loud. Not angry, nasty loud but boisterous, joking loud. I mean to be fun, but sometimes, without realizing it, I cross the line from amusing to annoying. Apparently I am not attuned to the social cues produced by others (e.g., dirty looks) that would alert me that the line is approaching.
One time in pilates reformer class, Kitty, our impossibly flexible and wonderful instructor, had to shout directions over my chatter until Mary-Rose, a sweet and until then passive member of the class, yelled, "Shut-up, Barnie." As this kind of outburst is not an altogether unfamiliar reaction to my behavior, I didn't mind. In fact, I was impressed that Mary-Rose was developing greater assertiveness.
Depending on the setting and the feelings of those involved, behavior that would commonly be seen as annoying could actually be welcomed. For example, a couple of weeks ago, Edward and I were having dinner with our friends, Cheeks-A-Flying (CAF) and his lovely wife, the queen of jurisprudence, known simply as Mommy. We chose a local haunt, close to our apartment building where, incidentally, CAF and Mommy live as well. The food is excellent, but for some reason, the average age of their customers is 92. Abe Vigoda, who was wonderful on the old TV show Barney Miller, and made a Doritos TV commercial with Betty White which was shown during last year's Super Bowl, had dinner there a couple of months ago, and he looked spry compared with most everyone else.
After the usual instructions to watch your step, repeated about five times to avoid broken hips, we were shown to our table, which was located next to a table with two women who were finishing their dessert. One woman appeared to be about 105 and the other was clearly her aide.
We, mostly I, proceeded to be loud, and I told all kinds of stories using all kinds of words. I cannot repeat these stories here, because I would have to include a "For Adults Only" caution before readers could open this blog.
Instead of appearing upset or leaving -- they already had their dessert and were given a bill -- the woman and her aide viewed our table as providing free entertainment. They were an excellent audience, never speaking to each other, but in fact providing a rapt attention to the goings-on, and they stayed with us until we ordered our own desserts at least an hour later.
We'll be headlining again at this restaurant in the near future.
I was at a nearby table and can attest to the truth of what is said. More than one table was trained on yours -- indeed, all tables were trained on yours. The restaurant had been magically transformed into a nightclub.
ReplyDeleteBarry - thank you for a totally accurate recitation of the facts.
ReplyDeleteI will bet anyone who reads this $ 100.00 that I know at least one word that was used repeatedly. I, of course, would never use such a word.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I don't think you will find anyone to take that bet, anonymous, as everyone knows all the bad words I use repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought I was special. Of course being thought of as special by a narcissist is rather an oxymoron.
ReplyDelete