Clarification

 

H

ere’s my lawn mower. See if you can find the problem.”

“The problem? What makes you think it has only one problem?”

“It doesn’t work.”

“That’s a symptom. That’s not a problem.”

“Okay then, you mow the lawn with it.”

“Look, I’ll fix it. It’ll be ready in five days.”

“Five days!”

“Yeah. What’s the problem?”

“My wife.”

“Has she been using the mower?”

“No. She’s been using her mouth.”

“To cut the grass?”

“Look, can’t you fix it any faster than five days?”

“I dunno. Now that I look at it, I think it’ll take at least a week.”

“I’ll be back in five days. It had better be ready or my wife will kill me.”

“Hey, if it’s that bad, why don’t you get a new one?”

“Do you have any idea how much a divorce costs these days?”

“Naw, all I carry is Toro. Here’s a sexy red baby for only one twenty nine and change. You can’t beat that.”

“Yeah, they tell you you’re getting a good deal when you buy it, and it hums and purrs quietly and does the work diligently and satisfactorily at first.”

“That’s right. So you are interested in a new one?”

“But after too short a time, the purring turns into clanking and growling and barking. And it’s all you can do to keep it going straight.”

“So. . . .”

“And as they get older, it seems that as the performance diminishes, the maintenance goes up.”

“Shall I wrap up the Toro, then?”

“I guess not. Just fix this one. No use spending extra money on a new one that will just break down like all the others.”

“Okay, sir.”

“Besides, I’ve kind of grown fond of old Gertrude. Been with me these eighteen years.”

“Right. I’ll fix the problem with the build-up and maybe add some paint and body work, and she’ll look like new.”

“That would be great. And say, could you put back some of that lively zip—if you know what I mean—that she had when I first brought her home?”

“Well, buddy, I’m sorry. I just fix lawnmowers. I don’t work miracles.”

 

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X Too many talkers don’t know what they are talking about because they are not paying attention to the conversation they are in.

 

Questions for Thought and Discussion

 

1. How does this story use humor to give an example of the problem created when two people do not seem to be discussing the same subject?

2. Define the idea of “talking past each other.”

3. How does the use of pronouns with unclear referents contribute to the success of the story?

 

 

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