My Neighbor has Bunny Rabbits
Alright, alright, I confess. I am a bad listener. Those who know me best will tell you that if I start to get that glazed over look on my face, you better ask me to repeat what you just told me as confirmation that I understood what was being said. More than a time or two, people have assured me that they informed me of something, and I, at the time, nodded in agreement, yet later the entire conversation seems completely foreign to me.
I could offer up many an excuse, such as a poor memory, Attention Deficit Disorder, or more. The scapegoat I will use instead is the fact that most of the time, I am running around like a chicken that is about ready to lose his head. Simply put, this time of year we lead a hectic, busy life. This said, sometimes I am guilty of rushing a conversation or being impatient simply because there is a call on hold, three customers in the kayak shop, and another caller beeping in on the other phone line. Sometimes, there simply is not enough hours in the day to take time out to hear about some off topic, random event.
Kids tend to be the worst about interjecting these unrelated tidbits from their personal life. The kindest way I have found to gently hint to folks that the comments are straying from where the conversation needs to be focused (such as the kayak lesson at hand, etc.) is to repeat a line from the movie Jerry Maguire. For those of you who have never seen this, or may have forgotten, one evening Jerry and this precocial, little kid of about 4 years old are bantering back and forth about various sports related records, facts and figures. Suddenly the kid exclaims, “My neighbor has bunny rabbits! Yes, completely random, I know. I regularly repeat this oddball line when I am being subjected to a litany of conversation that is either way off topic, or is of absolutely no interest to me whatsoever.
Here of late, many of my friends have been throwing this line back in my face. Point taken. I am the king of long winded, somewhat useless stories and random nature facts and figures. My favorite reply which was recently offered up to my, “…neighbor has bunny rabbits” phrase was, “So does my playboy!” For the first time in a long time, this kayak guide was at a loss for words (but grinning!)
Not that the conversations I may have yet to partake in with you would ever warrant this, but if I ever were to tell you, “My neighbor has bunny rabbits,” or, “The human head weighs eight pounds,” I am only teasing, but you will catch my drift!
Oh, and by the way, did you know that Cardinals use the bark of grapevine to line their nests?