No, its not dangerous, Walter patronizingly responded to her typical
outsiders question. Then the conversation died.
During the deafening silence, I remember thinking, if Rita had run just
one river, if Walter had bowled just one game, their lives might be different
now. Conversation could have flowed, and who knows what else might
have flowered.
Go Fly a Kite!
The Scramble Therapy technique is salvation from such disapointing
encounters. It will transform you into a modern-day Renaissance man or
woman who comfortably can discuss a varety of interests.
Scramble Therapy is, quite simply, scrambling up your life and
participating in an activity youd never think of indulging in. Just one out of
every four weekends, do something totally out of your pattern. Do you
usually play tennis on weekends? This weekend, go hiking. Do you usually
go hiking? This weekend, take a tenis lesson. Do you bowl? Leave that to
your buddies this time. Instead, go white-water rafting. Oh, you were
planning on runing some rapids like you do every warm weekend? Forget
it, go bowling.
Go to a stamp exhibition. Go to a chess lecture. Go ballooing. Go bird-
watching. Go to a pool hall. Go kayaking. Go fly a kite! Why? Because it
will give you conversational fodder for the rest of your life. From that
weekend on, youll sound like an insider with all the hikers, stamp
collectors, ballooners, birders, billiards players, kayakers, and kitists you
ever meet. Just by doing their activity once.
How to Be a Modern-Day Renaissance Man or Woman 147
If you take a piece of blue litmus paper and dip it in a huge vat of acid,
the tip turns pink. If you take another blue litmus paper and dip it into just
one minuscule drop of acid on a glass slide, the tip turns just as pink.
Compare this to participating in an activity just one time. A sampling gives
you 80 percent of the converstional value. You learn the insiders questions
to ask. You start using the right terms. Youll never be at a loss again when
the subject of extracurricular interests comes upwhich it always does.
Do You Speak Scuba?
Im not a certified scuba diver. However, six years ago in Bermuda I saw
a sign: Resort Dives, $25, no Scuba experience necessary. In just three
hours, I received the best crash course in talking with scuba divers the
world offers.
ooja
(Ooja)
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