What We Have Here Is a Failure to Get a Hearing Aid

Life is not a bowl of cherries here at our hillbilly mansion. It's more like a box of chocolates. Some of those chocolates are bitter! Disagreements can usually be talked out. Unless one of the disagree-ers doesn't listen. Or as that certain disagree-er says, "I listen to you, but I don't hear you." This causes our sweet Val to endure occasional tongue-lashings which she does not deserve. 

Tuesday afternoon, I was sitting at the kitchen table scratching lottery tickets when Hick got home. He'd planned to mow the front yard/field, but I told him it was too hot. He instead decided to watch Emergency and MASH, and have a beer and a snack in his recliner. His movements in my peripheral vision reminded me of my trip to the store earlier. 

Hick was getting a small styrofoam bowl from beside the sink. There's always a couple that I set there, having been used once for pretzels or a dry snack, then the crumbs dumped out, and perfectly usable again.

"Save A Lot doesn't have ANYTHING any more!"

"I put this bowl here! It's the one I used yesterday!"

"And...?

"FINE! I'll get another one!" Hick stomped away from the counter to get a "new" styrofoam bowl from the other side of the kitchen.

"What does that have to do with what I was saying?"

"You said 'I CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING ANY MORE!' So I put down your bowl to get a new one."

"No. I said SAVE A LOT doesn't have anything any more! I noticed, because you picked up a bowl, and I went there to buy some of the big styrofoam bowls, and they were out. Also out of Nutty Oat Bread, and their store brand Honey BBQ Sauce. That's all I was trying to say when you flipped out. At least wait to yell at me when you actually know what I said."

"Well, you were looking at me because I took your bowl! But it was MY bowl, that I used yesterday."

"I was looking at you because you picked up A BOWL, which reminded me that I couldn't find the big bowls at the store."

So many of these "discussions" could be avoided if Hick would only get a hearing aid, and not ASSUME he knows what I'm saying. I didn't give a fat rat's rumpus if he used that bowl.