Under the Wire

It’s called reading between the lines. You know what I’m referring to. Someone says one thing, but means another. I don’t know about you but it bugs the heck out of me. If you’ve got something to say, darn it, just say it.

I have always wondered why folks would go to such trouble. It always seemed easier to me to say the few words necessary to convey your thoughts than to spend much longer and many more words, beating around the bush.

A few folks might have something to gain by not speaking directly about a topic. The fellow with a lame horse to sell probably would rather talk about those other three outstanding legs the fine animal has. A prospective horse seller may mask the real subject by going into great lengths about something else. He will spend five minutes describing the best warmup procedure to get optimum performance from his horse. Great detail will go into describing stretching exercises, followed by long walks, then slow loping in a small pen. If this process is followed carefully old Brown will perform like the champ he is. Of course, the entire “warm up” will take about forty-five minutes and bring Brown to a pretty heavy sweat. Having taken so much time to share this with you has another motive, however. It excuses him from any liability when Brown puts his head between his front legs and your head in a gopher hole. Between the lines of the warm up procedure were written the words, “This sucker bucks like a maniac if you don’t ride the heck out of him before trying to do anything on him.”

Most folks who use the “between the lines” form of communication do not intend to deceive. They just believe they have used the best words available to describe a situation. The second party, upon hearing those words, paints an entirely different picture in their mind. A classic example is one man saying, “It takes me all day to drive from one end of my ranch to the other.” The second man, observes, “Yep, I had a pickup like that once myself.”

The third person who requires you to read between the lines is the one who just seems to march to the beat of a different drummer. These wonderful folks express themselves in their own unique language. It is up to you to interpret what they probably mean. My wife Sue is in this group. Daily, she describes things that baffle me. Once I figure out what it is she was talking about, I understand why she described it as she did. Prior to that moment of revelation, though, I had no idea what we were talking about. Most things she tells me reveal themselves fairly quickly. When she informed me her car “acted funny when she came to a stop sign,” I figured out within minutes she was telling me her brakes weren’t working.

Other times the answer doesn’t come as easily. Some take days to figure out. Occasionally I have to write them down to work on later. I know there is a great pearl of wisdom hidden in the comment, I just need time to find it. The latest “Sueism” as I call them, is a classic. If any of you can help me figure it out, please call. One day, deep in thought, Sue turned to me and said, “You know, I forgot more stuff than probably ever happened.” I know there is something very profound being expressed there but boy, is it buried deep between the lines!