Friday, January 9, 2009

VIA Chewing The Fat
By Dave Hinsburger

I could tell he was nervous, but I've learned not to ask. After the usual 'catching up' chat, he said, "Can I ask you something?" It's taken years for me to learn not to rush people into conversations they aren't ready to have. Breathe. Wait. It will happen, almost always.

"What's up?" I ask.

"A couple of weeks ago I was in Blockbusters in Ottawa and these two teen guys came in. Both had Down Syndrome and they looked like they could be brothers, not because they both had Down Syndrome but because they looked like each other. Anyways, they were both wearing Ottawa Senators coats, and touques, and scarves. I made a joke with them that they both must like the Sens. The older one asked me my favourite team and I told him that I was from Toronto, so I kind of had to like the Leafs." Suddenly he stopped in the story. I could tell that it was not a dramatic pause to increase tension, he was struggling to tell me what happened. What did I do? Breathe. Wait.

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