We Don’t Do Conflict in the Midwest
June 7, 2007 ·
Rod: We don’t do conflict in the Midwest.
Me: Oh yes, you do. You just do it in silence. And let it build up to the once-in-a-decade mega-explosion.
Rod: Those Scandinavian roots run deep. We don’t do conflict. We avoid conflict. You New Yorkers could learn a thing or two from us.
Me: Like what?
Rod: Like when to be quiet.
Me: Like right now?
Rod: As I said, we don’t do conflict there. I may be here, but I’m from there. So I can’t answer your question.
Me: Couldn’t you Scandinavians learn a thing or two from we New Yorkers?
Rod: Yes, but then we’d only be able to think about what we learned, and it would eat us alive, because we could never say it out loud.
Sigh.
Copyright © 2007 by Tammy Lenski. All rights reserved.
Oh, what a great little post! And you reminded me of arriving in NYC for a recording session, and in the taxi cab line at the airport - someone cut in front of everyone - and the woman in front of me (not much older than me) stepped out of line and grabbed him and yelled “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What the hell do you think you’re doing???!” And she sent him to the back. I will forever be grateful to her for showing me that it’s okay to just “Be New York!” (I’m still not great at it though!)
Oh that’s so New York, Christine! If Rod had witnessed that, he’d have wanted to melt into the sidewalk and disappear.
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