What Not To Say…Ever!

It slips out and we cannot get it back.  If only we could.

IF a woman holds up her iPhone to you and excitedly shows you a recently taken selfie, and asks, “What do you think?”, do not say, “Is that you?”

IF a first time parent holds up their iPhone and excitedly shows you a recently taken photo of their new born child, do not say, “Wow!  What is that?!”

IF a friend walks you up to a casket, where their mother is lying and asks how you think she looks, do not say, “I wouldn’t have recognized her.”

IF you see a junior high class mate that you have not seen in thirty years, do not walk up to her and say, “Diana, I don’t know if you remember me.  I’m John Hembree.”

IF you see an aging southern lady, who’s family home you considered a second residence, and you have not seen her since 1977, do not walk up to her and say, “Mrs. Jones, I don’t know if you remember me.  I’m John Hembree.”

IF you consider horses to be the most gorgeous animal to ever walk the earth, and you are on your first date with a particular girl, and she asks, “How do I look?”, do not say, “Oh my gosh!  Your butt looks just like the butt of a horse!”

All true stories.

All happened to me.

Regarding the selfie, that wound never healed.

Regarding the first time parent, “Wow!  What is that?!”, in a first time parent’s mind could be interpreted as, “Wow!  Is that even human?!”

Regarding the junior high class mate, when I said, “Diana, I don’t know if you remember me.  I’m John Hembree.”, their immediate response was, “Oh, I remember you.  You used to pick on me when I was a kid and say hurtful things.  There were wounds, but I eventually got over it and forgave you.”  (I honest to goodness do not recall this event ever happening.)

Regarding the aging lady, when I said, “Mrs. Jones, I don’t know if you remember me.  I’m John Hembree.”, their immediate response was, “Oh, I remember you.  You ran over our dog, Ginger, and broke her hip.”  (Again, I honest to goodness do not recall this event ever happening.)

Regarding the, “Oh my gosh!  Your butt looks just like the butt of a horse.”, if she had any knowledge at all, associated with the anatomy of a horse, she would have known I was paying her an extremely high compliment.  (Needless to say, our relationship lasted one date.)

Maybe me, more than others, but we all say things, that our brain surely did not intend to be verbally communicated.

The famous line from Cool Hand Luke says, “What we have here, is a failure, to communicate.”

We meant well.

We were thinking on our feet, but our foot, sometimes both, ended up in our mouth.

Even with the best of intentions, we should all be mindful what we say, and weigh out our words, before speaking.

“From a wise mind comes careful and persuasive speech.”  Proverbs 16:23 (TLB)