Pickles by Brian Crane for January 23, 2024

If you don’t know the question, ask it. That makes a lot of sense? Not.

Yogi Berra probably said that.

This is part of a long-term plan. If you reliably do something almost right, you may be given some other task. Or none.

The art is in doing the chores so poorly you won’t be asked to do them again.

And she wonders why he won’t help her.

Is she back to her old ways?

I fold the laundry, but Spouse puts it away for the most part. Life is simpler that way.

And as young school children, we were told if we didn’t know how to spell a word, to look it up in the Dictionary. (In this regard, on-line dictionaries today are more helpful in this regard.)

“Mom, who gets the last piece of cake?”“The first one who doesn’t ask me for it.”

My wife doesn’t mind me doing my own laundry. Least amount of non scented detergent to get it clean and absolutely no drying sheets. Mostly I wear cotton clothes. Folding is optional.

Come again?!

typical female logic.

I seriously had a job like that – state government. Here’s your chair, if you have any questions just ask. ZERO training.

No problem Opal, next time do it yourself.

Yeah, that’s my wife’s logic.

which applies to a lot of different areas of Earl’s life…

He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know

I’ve folded the laundry. Now, would you like me to put them away? Or do you want them put away right?

There’s an old saying: If you have a dog that knows how to play checkers you don’t criticize his game.

she was a teacher wasn’t she. I only say this because I had a lot of teachers say this exact thing while I was in school.

ok…… ok……. I got it

The other day I moved the wet laundry from the washer to the dryer and started it up. Thought I was being helpful, but I got a lecture about doing it at the wrong time of day.

That pretty much ensures I’m not going to try to be helpful again.

It’s a nice scheme of Earl’s to act stupid about the job of doing the laundry. Don’t know where anything goes and, naturally, Opal will do it for him. It’s a great way to get out of doing any work! I’m sure a lot of people have done this.

Didn’t Yogi Berra say that?

How can he ask it if the doesn’t know it. Appreciate the gesture, Opal.

Opal’s the kind of gal who— when she doesn’t know what to say— she says it anyway.

Now we know definitively why earl is like he is…..

That’s always the issue. Try to help out and still get criticized for how you did it. If you don’t help out, you get criticized for not doing it. My world.

This makes sense to me, I have been a teacher for many years and I get a lot of questions where the student doesn’t know the question. It really slows down the class…

Opal ’s talking in tongues.

Alrighty then, Opal! Whatever you say! ☺️☺️

Sounds good dear.

Ummm… okay… I guess??

If the answer is 42, what is the question?

(For a LOT of questions, what all questions have 42 for an answer?)

This made me think of a class I took in college. The prof was running it as an independent study, & I was floundering. He said, “If you don’t understand, ask questions.” I said, “That’s the problem – I don’t understand enough to be able to ask questions!”

She will have so many questions thrown at her she will tape his mouth shut.

Not unlike my college years.

Or, Opal, you could just be grateful that he folded them in the first place.

When you come to a fork in the road, pick it up.

Is this just about the concept that ALL men can’t do basic household tasks – or is Earl just stupid (or pre-dementia) that after 70+ years of living he couldn’t recognize the difference between dish towels and hand towels?

Constant criticism is a great way to get him to stop doing things around the house. Go with the flow; he will eventually learn.

My mother always said, “If you want help, lower your standards.” She was right and it works! Lots of little preferences are not important at all.

that’s what I have been doing ALL my life. asking the questions that never occur to me. it saves on “small” unnecessary talk

I wash, dry and fold my own clothes. Wife doesn’t touch them. If her clothes are still in the dryer, I put them on top of the dryer, dry my clothes, and then put hers back in the dryer for her to finish later. Don’t get in trouble that way. And about half the time I do the towels. But I know where they go. And the last ones to get washed go underneath the rest.

Oh… how many times has my wife said that…. I lost count.

If he ever used a dishtowel or a hand towel he would know where they go.