Free Write - Feb. 5

In semantics class, we talked about the differences between how men and women phrase things. The example used was as follows:
A man and woman are on a long drive home.
Woman: “Are you thirsty?”
Man: “Nope.”
Upon returning home, the woman then turns to the man and scolds him for being insensitive and not stopping to get her a drink.
Of course we all laugh, but secretly, every married or involved guy cringed as he read that, remembering the many and not infrequent occasions this has happened to him. I have the double whammy, though. Not only is my wife a typical female who makes statements like the above, but she is from a closely knit family in which they all finish the others’ sentences, leading to the assumption that sentences do not have to be finished by the speaker, and that everyone automatically knows what you’re talking about, so you never have to introduce a topic. This can lead to humorous situations, but more often leaves me confused. If my wife and I are talking about Charlie’s Angels, then we switch to talking about Hondas, then we switch to talking about Canadian geese, then we switch to talking about kidney stones, my wife (and the members of her family) would see fit to bring back the subject of Charlie’s Angels by saying out of the blue “I sure do like them”, never saying whether the “them” referred to Hondas, kidney stones, geese, or Angels. Another common occurrence is at a restaurant. If I order something different from her, she will inevitably ask me if my dish tastes good. This question carries with it the assumption that if, indeed, my dish DOES taste good, then I should gladly share it with her so she can enjoy it as well. After that comes the assumption that if my dish does NOT taste good, then she would need a bite to confirm that my dish does NOT taste good. Either way, some of my food ends up on her fork.