Posted by BJ
As some of you will know, I have a dog. I have an interest in dogs. If I see a person with a dog, I’ll generally approach them, say hi, introduce myself and Jack (my dog) and strike up a conversation.Usually such conversations are fairly brief and we owners exchange a bit of info – I might ask how old their dog is. They might inquire as to what type of dog Jack is (he’s an American Staffordshire terrier). I might mention the local dog owner’s group (of which I’m a member and of which Jack and I are ambassadors.), etc. – as the dog’s do their sniffing and getting to know each other.
Recently, Jack and I approached a woman and her dog outside my local coffee shop. I introduced myself and Jack and inquired as to what type of dog hers was. This woman proceeded to tell me, at great length and with great detail, everything about this dog, her other two dogs, her husband, her three kids, her brother-in-law and, I think at one point, her neighbor’s son’s wife’s brother’s ex-girlfriend son. For a full 10 minutes she talked, non-stop, at warp speed, never asking me a question, showing no interest in me or my dog. I mentally checked out somewhere around minute 3, at which point I think she was going on about her mother being unable to have a dog because her latest boyfriend, of which there had apparently had been a few, was allergic. If this woman ever answered my question as to what type of dog hers was, I certainly don’t remember the answer.
I do remember that this woman was not someone I cared to speak to, and I recall trying to extract myself from her long winded dissertation of which I had zero interest after the first 15 seconds.
This one sided conversation, if I can call it that, was quite a bit like some of the poorer proposals I’ve reviewed.
As some of you will know, I have a dog. I have an interest in dogs. If I see a person with a dog, I’ll generally approach them, say hi, introduce myself and Jack (my dog) and strike up a conversation.Usually such conversations are fairly brief and we owners exchange a bit of info – I might ask how old their dog is. They might inquire as to what type of dog Jack is (he’s an American Staffordshire terrier). I might mention the local dog owner’s group (of which I’m a member and of which Jack and I are ambassadors.), etc. – as the dog’s do their sniffing and getting to know each other.
Recently, Jack and I approached a woman and her dog outside my local coffee shop. I introduced myself and Jack and inquired as to what type of dog hers was. This woman proceeded to tell me, at great length and with great detail, everything about this dog, her other two dogs, her husband, her three kids, her brother-in-law and, I think at one point, her neighbor’s son’s wife’s brother’s ex-girlfriend son. For a full 10 minutes she talked, non-stop, at warp speed, never asking me a question, showing no interest in me or my dog. I mentally checked out somewhere around minute 3, at which point I think she was going on about her mother being unable to have a dog because her latest boyfriend, of which there had apparently had been a few, was allergic. If this woman ever answered my question as to what type of dog hers was, I certainly don’t remember the answer.
I do remember that this woman was not someone I cared to speak to, and I recall trying to extract myself from her long winded dissertation of which I had zero interest after the first 15 seconds.
This one sided conversation, if I can call it that, was quite a bit like some of the poorer proposals I’ve reviewed.