Z'up? Z'up.
Harry Truman's idea of a proper inquiry into one's health, combined with a friendly greeting, was:
"Good morning; how are you doing?"
"Good morning; I'm fine, thank you. And you?"
"Just fine, thank you."
That was the cultured and dignified way in his era. It's changed, at least on college campuses. We are now down to the "exchange it without slowing down or waiting for a full answer." Example:
"What's up?"
"What's up?"
Actually, what you hear is:
"Z'up?"
"Z'up?"
Gone are the days when you would serve tea from a silver pot and then inquire into the happenings of each other's day. "How have things gone today, Esther?" "Well, (on and on for five minutes)." Eventually, Esther pauses for breath and Agnes manages to get her foot in the door: "Oh, I know JUST how you feel. I ran into Mrs. Fusbottom (five minutes more)." The sun slowly drops 'neath the clothesline, the remaining tea leaves are fat and bloated with an afternoon of hot water.
I think I'll take "Z'up" over "How have things gone today, Esther?" anytime.
"Good morning; how are you doing?"
"Good morning; I'm fine, thank you. And you?"
"Just fine, thank you."
That was the cultured and dignified way in his era. It's changed, at least on college campuses. We are now down to the "exchange it without slowing down or waiting for a full answer." Example:
"What's up?"
"What's up?"
Actually, what you hear is:
"Z'up?"
"Z'up?"
Gone are the days when you would serve tea from a silver pot and then inquire into the happenings of each other's day. "How have things gone today, Esther?" "Well, (on and on for five minutes)." Eventually, Esther pauses for breath and Agnes manages to get her foot in the door: "Oh, I know JUST how you feel. I ran into Mrs. Fusbottom (five minutes more)." The sun slowly drops 'neath the clothesline, the remaining tea leaves are fat and bloated with an afternoon of hot water.
I think I'll take "Z'up" over "How have things gone today, Esther?" anytime.
posted by Tom Carten at 2:11 PM
2 Comments:
I think I'll take "Z'up" over "How have things gone today, Esther?" anytime.
You really would? I like the old fashioned ways, thank you. I liked it when there was the appearance of caring, at the very least.
Unless, of course, Esther is a total boor. Then all bets are off.
That's the problem; Esther went on for five minutes without taking a breath, as did Agnes. I like conversation, but if you have to wait interminably for the other person to pause for breath (and, having lived with such, it's amazing how they can do it), I'd rather have the passing "Z'up" and maybe catch up on things later.
We had a guy here who would take many minutes to get through an idea and, just when you thought you were free, free at last, would slip into another one on the turn of a comma. There wasn't even time for you to say, "I have to be going." When someone walked into the room, he would turn to entrap that person and Victim #1 would slip away. Victim #2 would escape when Victim #3 innocently strolled into the cobweb.
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