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Director had a hunch. "Is this just about friendship?"
"Oh, no. It's about everything," said Friend.
"Everything I say, or everything everyone says?"
"Everything that everyone says." He took a deep breath. "Do you think something's wrong with me?"
"Let's see if we can find out." Director put his hand on his chin. "Is it only things people say, or is it also things people do?"
"It's also things that people do, but there's something odd about that. Let's say someone opens the door for me. When I recall the action visually it's fine. But if I think about it in words that's where it gets to be ambiguous. I mean, I'll think: 'He opens the door. An open door is an opportunity. Opportunity must be seized. What is he telling me to seize by opening this door for me?' And so on, and so on. It gets worse if I start to think of things like the name of the building, the name of the street it's on, the name of the city it's in. You can imagine."
"Oh, yes. I certainly can." Director frowned in thought. "What if you only think of things visually, forget the words?"
"How far do you really think I would get before a word would sneak up and ambush me?"
"What if you limit the words? What if you have an image of me shaking your hand with a smile, and just allow yourself the word 'Director', of 'friend'?
"I don't know how to limit it. It's overwhelming, Director."
"Maybe you need flashcards like those people use when learning a new language. You know, a picture of a cat with the word 'cat' beneath it."
"Do you think I've regressed that far?"
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Nick Pappas, pappasnick.typepad.com
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