Dialing the number on the dog tag around her neck, the man said, "I have Tesseroo."
He described over his phone in detail how she had come into his possession and went on about how sweet and cute and well-behaved she was.
When he finally took a breath and inquired as to how to make arrangements for returning her, the person on the other end asked, "Who is Tesseroo?"
Double checking the number the man apologized, realizing he was one number off when dialing.
Is it only me or have any of you ever gone on and on about something only to find out later that you were "off by one number"?
Unfortunately for me it isn't a stranger's lost dog that I'm wrong about.
That would be acceptable.
It is usually someone I know well or think I do.
I think I am so sure that I know them that I give detailed descriptions of my side/my version of how it appears to me without stopping long enough to breathe and ask if it is even accurate.
When I am done I'm off by so many numbers it's become an international call!
I had found the dog but did not have the means to make the call, so a man across the street from where I was walking helped me.
As I stood there listening to him, it was much easier and more apparent for me to see that he might be off track as he kept talking.
Why is that?!
"Tesseroo" is now the new code word for making sure I have all the facts correct before making assumptions that I am right.
Maybe I can get my own tag to hang around my neck as a reminder?
....Just in case I get lost?
"Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in." ~Alan Alda
I like that Tesseroo. I find myself making assumptions pretty quickly and then discover how wrong I can be. I also hate when people make a wrong assumption about me.
ReplyDeleteYou know how the old saying goes "Assume - makes an ass out of (yo)u and me!" I'm bad for this. I make assumptions all the time, so this is a good story and reminder to just slow down there, take a breath and make sure I have all the facts in line first.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, btw, for your thoughtful suggestions on my last post! Fantastic. I'm going to write up a list of pro's/con's, too, using your ideas and see what happens. It helps that my MC debt is actually only HALF of what I thought, so I can start there...Much appreciated! :)