This is always the busiest week of the year for Chris and me, as we work doggedly, sparing no puns, to promote the Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows. Reporters hound us with last-minute demands, the public begs constantly for answers about strollers and cameras and wheelchairs, and the fur flies as we try to control the mayhem of papers and post-it notes and schedules.
So when my friend Lindsay called yesterday from a business trip for a long-overdue catch-up chat, there was no time to waste. We already knew we had precisely 30 minutes to talk. It was essential to cut to the chase and stick to a couple of main conversational topics.
“Hey Lindsay, so how’s work going?”
“Too much to say. That’s a topic for another time. Tabled.”
“OK, how about Spencer, is he liking his teacher?”
“Yes. But he’s not on the agenda for this call. Move to defer.”
“OK, let’s cut the chit-chat and go right to item one. My mother in law. So, here’s the latest…”
Under the pre-arranged terms of our phone call, we were going to stick to two main topics: my mother-in-law’s health situation (extremely complicated), and public versus private school for Lindsay’s son Liam (ditto). This fall, both subjects loom large in our respective psyches. Email has fallen short when it comes to the nuances of each sitaution.
We’ve known each other for so long that we know the entire cast of characters in each other’s life. Covering all the latest news on each would take forever.
It was like a duel or a joust, only with words. And we both won.
