My blog went silent for a few weeks as the devotions were sent, so I’m overdue for a post. Thought you’d get a kick out of this story.
A friend sent this meme:
“I once got sent out of class at school for being too sarcastic. The teacher yelled at me, “What would your parents say if I called them?” I replied, “Hello?”
I laughed, and it reminded me of a childhood story.
I was about 10 years old and playing with my buddy Larry during recess. We were taking paper towels out of the dispenser, dampening them, folding them into flat little tents, pinching a hole in them, blowing until it was inflated, then slapping them to create a loud POP. We thought it was hilarious, though in hindsight it makes me realize why kids today stare at their phones.
The grumpiest teacher on staff had recess duty that day. Drawn by too much laughter and the POP sound, she caught us in the act and read us the riot act.
“IS THIS THE KIND OF THING YOU WOULD DO AT HOME???” she shouted.
To which I calmly replied, “Actually yes, Larry and I were talking about how fun it would be to do this with the paper towels at home.”
Well, that set her off. We were dragged by our ears (literally by the ears – can I sue someone for physical assault now?) to the principal’s office. She angrily explained how terrible we were, then pointed her boney old finger at me and said, “And this one has a mouth on him.”
The principal nodded, told her he’d handle it, and dismissed her. After she left he sighed, shook his head, and said, “Boys, don’t do that anymore.”
That was it. The big paper towel popping caper wasn’t something he was going to worry about. No doubt the same grumpy teacher had dragged others in for similar mistakes, and he was tired of it.
We said sorry, promised we wouldn’t do it again, and left. End of story.
But here’s the thing. I really wasn’t trying to be sarcastic or a smart aleck. I misread her question, not realizing it was rhetorical, so gave an honest answer. Larry and I really had talked about popping towels at home after school!
The experience internalized lessons that I couldn’t express at the time. But 50+ years later, here are three worth noting.
- Be careful with rhetorical questions, especially when you are the person in authority. They can make things a lot worse.
- It’s easy to misread a comment. I misread her question, she misread my answer, and it irritated her as it confused me. If she had just asked a follow up question it might have diffused the situation.
- Sarcasm really can make life interesting!