ever shove your foot in your mouth?

[Vince the Plumber]

i was on a job in montreal.

boiler replacement.

the grunts were hauling the old boiler out and placing the new one.

i said to the little "old" man standing beside me, "out with old and in with the new".

he calmly turned and looked at me and said,

"what's wrong with the old"?

i couldn't reply.

man, i think i pretty much felt my kneecap with my tonsils.

Vince

all i could think was, "point well taken, if your not a boiler":D

[CWSmith]

Yep, been there for sure. I'm one who used to be the first to pop a joke or make a statement in jest. It doesn't always get heard in the manner that I intended. As I've grown older, I've learned that my quest to make light of a situation may well not be right for the moment.

When I was in my very late teens, I took my new VW and went down to N. Carolina to visit some of my relatives. It was in the fall of 1965. My uncle and I spent some time together and we took the opportunity to visit some of the sights (like Kittyhawk) that my parents would never take me to, on our previous family visits.

At the end of that week my Uncle, cousin, and I visited the local barbershop. When it was my time to get in the chair, there was just the five of us in the shop, my Uncle, my cousin, some old guy, the barber, and me.

My cousin told some funny story and we all laughed. I don't remember it specifically, but it had something to do with segregation. Of course I piped up with "better be careful there, the KKK might hear you".

Well nobody laughed, and my Uncle sort of roled his eyes. But the barber said, "Son, in this state about one in every five men are members of the clan. Now your uncle there is a new young minister, so I doubt that he is. Your cousin Ronny probably wouldn't be either and you being a damn yankee, leaves you out for sure. All that leaves is old Mr. Johnson there and me.... and I'm the one holding the razor!!!!.

All I could do was quickly appologize!

I don't think I said another word for the rest of my haircut and I couldn't wait to get out of the chair and out of that shop. My uncle and I agreed that keeping my schedule to head back north the following afternoon was probably a good idea.

CWS

[NHMaster3015]

I have found that the words "who was the hack that installed this" are usually followed by "me, what's the problem?"

[Pipestone Kid]

CWS does this bring back memories.

[Service Guy]

I have found that the words "who was the hack that installed this" are usually followed by "me, what's the problem?"

I've been in that situation many times myself. :ignore:

Now I say it with a little more tact, "Well, I can tell a plumber didn't do this!" It gets the same point across without sounding too insulting. I probably say that line several times/week on average. DIYers and Handymen galore here.