1 post tagged “qotd”

When was the last time you surprised yourself?

Not so long ago. There was this lady who was always criticising me. She often came to visit me and we had a nice conversation for a while, then she got nasty. Once she stared hard at my left hand, her whole face got a disapproving look and out she blurred: "Good grief what have you got there on your hand?" I looked surprised at my hand and in particularly at my ring finger. I mumbled something like: "Oh that's a pewter ring from Norway".

She interrogated, for that was what it looked like, me further: "And do you really like it????"She gave me a look of reproof. I said:"Yes of course otherwise I wouldn't wear it, would I?!" Well she said pewter ought to be polished until it looks like silver. Now I happen to watch "Antiques Roadshow" quite often and I heard once said by an expert that tinware must look like tinware and not like silver. But I didn't say it.

Another time she saw some Norwegian lessons on my table laying and again her face looked angry. She said on a disapproving tone with an angry look:"Why do you bother to learn Norwegian, you will never use it!!"

I said :"Well in fact I always use it when I am in Norway and people over there like it. She :"I hate that lanquage. Take French, that's a beautiful language. But Norwegian ...Ugh !!"She made  a sound as if she wanted to throw up. Now I happen to know that she doesn't speak either language, but I said nothing.In the meantime I was sick and tired of this woman, who even didn't speak Dutch properly.
Then a short time afterwards I had a couple of people,  whom I had taught English for a long time during the wintertime.She was one of the students. I made coffee and had a biscuit with it. She took one and Immediately cried: "What the hell is this? It has no taste at all. Then I did something I never did before I got up and looked hard at her and said:"You are very rude, this is not done and if you don't like it you leave it!"The other ladies were surprised they had never seen me like that , but they agreed with me.Lateron she rang me saying that she wanted to stop taking lessons with me. I said okay and ended the relationship there and then.