Lost in translation

When I was younger (at least a few months ago), we used to play the game telephone. It was something that had to be done with a group of people. Ideal for sitting around a campfire or entertaining a classroom of young children. Basically, one person whispered a  phrase, say something like "I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," into the ear of the person next to them. This person would then whisper it into the next ear, and the process would continue until all ears had been reached. Then the last person had to repeat the phrase, which invariably had by this time metamorphosed into "My Uncle Fred has green hair." Needless to say the results could often be quite amusing.

Little did I know that this game actually was practical training for my future!""

It seems that there is a certain class of people out there who are perpetually playing a sort of cosmic game of telephone. When you communicate with these people, no matter what you might say, as the words travel through the ether to their ears, they somehow morph into a completely different phrase, which is invariably the one that they answer. It can make for rather odd conversations!

My mother is one of these people. It does not matter how simple the phrase or question, she always manages to answer something else. For instance, yesterday she had plans for meeting one of her ex coworkers for lunch, which meant I had to make sure I was around to watch dad. So at one point I asked her "What time are you leaving?" To which she very clearly answered, "I am going to her house instead."

I give her props for at least being in the same realm of the conversation this time. Often the non sequitur answer has very little to do with the original statement or question. Like if I say "What is that yummy smell?" she might say something like "Your father has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow."

I am thinking that if I can actually figure out the method to the cosmic telephone game I might be able to revolutionize world communications!