The Inevitable Question

Coworker: So, did you do anything special over the break?

Me: Actually, I took a trip around the world, you see. First, I stopped in Egypt to see the pyramids, and then I went to Greece to climb Mt. Olympus. After that, I stopped by the Coliseum in Rome to see a gladiator fight. Soon after that, I went to Israel so that I could dive down to the deepest part of the Dead Sea. Then, I went to Australia to eat some kangaroo steaks and shrimp on the barbie. Next, I went to China and I walked the entire length of the Great Wall. After that I went to India to drink some authentic chai tea. Finally, I went to the heart of Brazil to learn the ways of the Kraho Indian tribe in the Amazonian Rainforest. And I got back to Montgomery just in time. Amazing, huh?

Coworker: Oh, that’s nice. We went to the beach.

Okay, okay, what I really did was drive out to Augusta, GA to see my aunt and uncle and beautiful little cousins. I had a great time, slept in a bit, ate lots of nice big Southern breakfasts, got lots of love, hugs and kisses from my darling cousins and . . . what would Labor Day be without a barbeque? Ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, greens, baked beans and corn on the cob. Good times.

I’ve also started this book that I bought when I was down there called The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I already read another of his books called Blink and I was wowed, so my next quest was to read his previously written book. The guy is brilliant. He proposes in very sparkling and understandable prose his theory that ideas, trends, fads, phenomena, etc. spread in the same way viruses spread. It’s basically the epidemiology of ideas. It sounds weird, but it really makes a lot of sense, and it’s highly interesting.

Anyway, (sigh) work continues on the morrow. I might use my outlandish answer to the inevitable question just to get a reaction out of someone.