now there is someone I have known for more than half my life. We have talked about some of the craziest range of things in person and on the telephone. Sometimes we get so animated about the things we are talking about that things get out of hand. I came up with one phrase to diffuse this kind of elevation.
We would concur with each other so violently, the whole thing was reduced to this -
"Yeah, well you are fucking right!!"
"Yeah, well you are fucking right too!!"
"You are so right, the next time I see you, you are going to be in a whole WORLD of pain, my friend!! I am going to rip off you head and shit down your neck you are so right!! You know I know Muay Thai !?!"
so I came up with the one phrase that diffused all this -
"Let's not have a heated agreement."
from that point onward, if the agreeing started getting a little out of hand, all I had to do was say that one statement and things magically calmed down. He said it to me from that point as much as I said it to him. There were variants but they always used the words heated agreement.
now there is one other thing and I am loathed to describe this as a "pre-eulogy". I am being arrogant and selfish, but I want him to live longer than me. For one reason.
there have been times when we were on the phone and he just made one off the cuff remark and I started laughing. A giggle rapidly turned into laughter so hard that I couldn't form the sound of laughter - every thirty seconds I would just gasp. All the while he was on the other end of the line.
"Hello? Are you there? Are you alright?"
well that just added insult to injury. After some time I could actually form the sound of laughter and he knew everything was o.k.
to imagine that the very potential of that never happening again is really too much to bear.
selfish, I know.
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