... that makes me think about something that would have come out of my mom's mouth, but this one brought back memories of my dad. I don't know what caused this to come to mind, but I have the clearest memory of my dad, when I was as kid. I would ask him where he was going, though it was obviously none of my business. His response: 'I am going to see a man about a dog.' Which is apparently an euphemism for 'you don't need to know'. Of course, I was much too young to be included in conversations between adults, but as I child, I did not know that.
So naturally, I thought 'we're getting a puppy?' Assuming that he was really truly actually going some place where there was a man who had puppies he was giving away, and he might bring one home for my brother and I to have. Oh, wow!
When in reality: NOYB. I am pretty sure I have never heard that come out of anyone else's mouth, so that makes it exclusive to my dad. I assume it is a pretty common phrase that would have been heard occasionally in the era in which my dad grew up. But it was not only news to me, it was something that a child was totally unprepared to hear, in the sense that it was taken entirely too literally. Making little people much too hopeful and anticipatory, expecting results that will never come to pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment