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From: Marija
Date: 10/18/03
Time: 6:43:09 AM
Remote Name: 195.29.103.201
Hello dr.Walt! At the end of your paper you invited us to share a humorous story that was provoked by stuttering. I know I laughed many times over my block but now can remember only a few from my recent past.
As I am working in a firm that communicates directly with customers, eye to eye and over the phone, many times I stutter. There was this salesperson entering my town with a car and wanted me to lead her to my firm over the phone. "Yes", I was saying, "have y...y...you p-assed the white b. b. b-uildings?" "Huh?", she says", "the white what?" "The white b. b. b-uildings!" "What? Please speak up, the connection must be bad, it sounds like someone is stuttering!" "Well I AM STUTTERING!" I said and bursted into laughter. She started to apologize but of course I said that everything was alright and that she had made my day with that comment.
Other time a guy phoned to ask in which hotel do we own a store. I started: "Yes, it's in hotel I ------." And I blocked in silence. The word was "Iliria". "Hello, hello, can you hear me?" the guy asked. "Yes I can hear you", I said quickly and fluently, "I was saying that our store is in the hotel I-----" and I blocked again. "Heloo!", the man was shouting, "listen, I can't hear you, the connection is breaking, I'll call later!" I frowned at first but then told it to all my colleagues and we were rolling on the floor laughing for 5 minutes.
The things that crack me up is when the oher person is trying to fill in "a blank" and then says smething TOTALLY opposite of what my intention was, but right now I can't remember any. This happens with familiar people same as with strangers, and I find it both very amusing and relaxing.
I totally agree that humour is much more important than is given credit for.