Monday, June 13, 2011

Don't kill my illusions

I had a bathroom conversation recently that still irritates me. (No quotes because I don't remember the exact words.)

I walked into the bathroom at work and a woman was wiping her leg off and grumbling.  I asked, What's wrong? She replied, I got splashed by the toilet.

I shook my head sympathetically, smiled, and said, Maybe it was clean water.

Her growling answer?  It wasn't.

Me:  Well, I like to believe it is. 

At this point, she proceeded to tell me at length how she learned in chemistry class that the fluid coming out of a container is not the one being poured in, but the one being poured into.

I cut her short and said, Well, I prefer to pretend it's the clean water.  (See, I said "pretend", indicating that I know better.)

She snorts, Well that's just wrong and again launches into the elaborate description of the decades old chemistry experiment that proves her right and me wrong.

Now, if I can tell that someone prefers to believe a non-truth, I leave them to their comforts.  A wife who pretends her husband isn't a scumbag, a person who believes their child or pet is getting better, someone who believes that Santa doesn't exist, these are people who cling to their pretenses and it does me no harm to leave them be.

I think it was very rude for her to insist on "educating" me.  I like my fantasy, thank you very much.

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