“Would you prefer steak or fish?”*

“Yes.”

Look closer. Closer. There you go. That “yes” doesn’t mean you want both; it means you do indeed want steak OR fish.

If you’re implying that you would like both, the proper answer is below:

“Would you like to have a head massage or a neck massage?”

“No. AND.”

or just

“Both, please.”

 

There will be a test.

 

 

 

*Actually, my answer would be steak. I don’t like fish, so the point is moot. That’s why we’re asking YOU.

One of my first jobs was at Eckerd’s, a drug store that doesn’t exist anymore. I stocked shelves, did the cash registration thing…I think that’s pretty much it. Oh, and I called people to tell them that their film was ready. THAT was horrifying. No wonder I blocked it out.

They played nice, easy listening music all day. That “Summer Breeze” one, about “going to the jazz bowl in my mind” or whatever it is*, “We’ve Got Tonight”, “Time After Time”, you know how it was. And some of them made me feel a way I did not particularly care to feel in the middle of restocking batteries. These were ones that made me almost cry. And they still seem to have that effect 25 years later.

When I am done working in my studio for the day, I turn on the air purifier. And it makes a sound like the beginning of “Save the Best For Last” before a final chime. So I leave singing that song, and remember how it would come on the air, and I would well up with emotion during that crappy job** and listen to these beautiful lyrics and her beautiful voice. So I had to go to YouTube and listen, and it was wonderful, and it reminded me that it was sung by Vanessa Williams, and then I had to go look her up, and now she’s my hero.

So thank you, Ms. Williams. Namaste.

 

 

*Unclear, is what it was. They needed to enunciate.

**See criteria for a crappy job, July 30.