Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

People off tip off what they are about to do (pick up the remote control and you are about to watch television). There are other tip offs or indicators that are not so obvious.

I was sitting in a meeting a few weeks back. I put on my $1 reading glasses and shuffled through some papers. The gentleman at the end of the table announced, “Dwayne has put on his glasses, so he is about to say something.”

He was right. I did put on my glasses to find something in my notes that didn’t agree with what had just been stated. I wanted to be sure of what I had before I said so.

This brought to mind a number of actions that indicate unrelated coming actions:

1. Putting on your glasses indicates you are about to speak
2. Picking up a red pen indicates you are about to read
3. Picking up a ruler indicates you are about to write

Number 1 is about me.

Number 2 – I knew someone who could not read anything at work without marking it as she read. She always marked with a red pen. Hence, when she picked up her red pen, she was about to read.

Number 3 – when in high school, I knew a guy who always wanted to write in a straight line. He did so by holding a ruler to his paper and writing along the top edge of the ruler. Hence, when he picked up a ruler, he was about to write.