The Art of (Casual) Conversation

Co-worker: Hey, JTL, how’s it going?

Mr. Rilch: Steelers won, baby! One victory away from the Super Bowl!

RIGHT: Great!

WRONG: I’m not interested in football.


Co-worker: Hey, Rilch! Get anything good for Christmas?

Rilch: I sure did! The New Yorker cartoons anthology and the companion to the Beatles Anthology!

RIGHT! Cool! I got…

WRONG: I can’t stand the Beatles.


Neighbor: Whad’you do last night, EB?

Boss: Oh, I was rehearsing with my church choir.

RIGHT: Cool. I was…

WRONG: I don’t go to church. Organized religion is a crock.

Good points.

Now make 6.2 billion copies and distribute world-wide and we’ll all be better off.

That’s funny. I always restrain myself, when a coworker or friend is talking about his/her child, from saying, “Ugh, I hate kids.” Especially when they’re showing off the newborn baby’s pictures.