Wednesday, October 5, 2011

BMSF

have you ever stuck your foot in your mouth? i have. both literally and figuratively. actually just the other day i found out that i am capable of sucking on both of my toes simultaneously. it isn't comfortable or tasty.

in an earlier post, i mentioned something called a BMSF. this is a feature that most civilized, socially appropriate people seem to develop on their own. not me. when i was 16, i took part in the eagle project of one Eric Campbell. his project involved building a trail in the Prescott National Forest in Arizona. it was a pretty sweet project, and a lot of fun to be involved in. as we tried to make a flat, smooth path, we met with many obstacles. like icebergs, these rocks and roots only showed a small percentage of their actual size above the soil. rocks that looked like you could just pick them up turned out to be large boulders that took considerable effort to remove. after some time and effort, i commented to those working around me that my back hurt. one of the men standing right next to me said, 'well, if you need it, i know a really good chiropractor.' being the idiot i am, i responded, 'oh, no thanks. i went to a chiropractor as a kid, and it didn't help me at all. i don't trust chiropractors.'

(at this point, insert foot into mouth)

he responded, 'oh, i'm sorry to hear that. i'm a chiropractor.' yeah... way to go jeremy.

my best friend growing up often complained about my apparent lack of a BMSF. i am really good at saying funny things that range from scatological humor to politically incorrect racial and gender jokes (for one of my great gender jokes, see my post on gender equality.) it is pretty immature, and i enjoy it. i guess there is a time for professionalism and a time for being silly, and i like to have those silly times where i can just say what comes to mind.

so how do we avoid the embarrassment of accidentally calling a chiropractor a lier? i guess we all have those times where we regret the words we speak as we are speaking them. sometimes we wish we could reach out and grab those words in midair before they reach the ears of those around us. i don't know the answer. but if we are careful, and make use of a BMSF we can avoid giving offense or receiving embarrassment. just be wise. that's what jacob said.

if you want to share an embarrassing foot-in-the-mouth story, post it below!

4 comments:

  1. I wouldn't have been embarrassed by this situation. This is how you really felt, right? I would have simply responded "well, maybe I can start learning to trust chiropractors after all!" You shouldn't be embarrassed about expressing how you truly honestly feel. You know what I mean?

    However, we should try to be candid while being sensitive. Once I said something I didn't mean.. it just came out wrong. An acquaintance from high school asked me if I would be inviting her to my mission farewell. I responded by saying "If I invited you I'd have to invite half the school!" (Insert foot) What I meant to say was that since we weren't very close friends, I'd probably not invite her. But that isn't very friendly either. I should have just said "Yeah, maybe!" And then never talked to her again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One time, on the way from one class to another, my classmates and I were complaining about the class we were on our way to, emphasizing how BORING it was. I made the boring comment, actually, and just as a classmate heartily agreed in a booming voice (which echoed in the stairwell), I noted the panicked shut-up neck-slicing gesture from another classmate. Why? Of course, non but our own professor was right behind us! To our relief, though, he was preoccupied talking to another student, but it sure was close!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ummmm about everyday of my life. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Once I was shopping with a friend and, upon finding a frilly mess, said, "That is the ugliest dress I think I've ever seen."
    Her reply: "Um... I own that dress..."
    "And I'm sure it looks LOVELY on you!"

    ReplyDelete