Wally Bock recalls a 40-year-old conversation in which a person made a thoughtless remark about his having written non-fiction books. My reactions:
- He is a real writer.
- This is an example of the ability to wound via a casual remark and the comment is remembered 40 years later.
3 comments:
The eternal question: What is real?
DON JUAN Have you ever had servants who were not devils?
THE OLD WOMAN Never: they were devils, perfect devils, all of them. But that is only a manner of speaking. I thought you meant that my servants here would be real devils.
DON JUAN No more real devils than you will be a real lady. Nothing is real here. That is the horror of damnation.
quote context: http://pllqt.it/Qhdtgg
John,
Beware of the talking coyotes.
Michael
I know from personal experience that sometimes the memory of thoughtless comments or someone laughing at you at the wrong time can stay with someone (especially children) for years. This is one reason why I try very hard never to laugh at a child when he or she is trying to be serious. It's really hard not to laugh when they say something cute, though. :)
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