{"id":1182,"date":"2016-02-11T07:06:56","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T15:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nocontest.ca\/?p=1182"},"modified":"2016-02-11T07:06:56","modified_gmt":"2016-02-11T15:06:56","slug":"lesprit-descalier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nocontest.ca\/index.php\/2016\/02\/11\/lesprit-descalier\/","title":{"rendered":"L&#8217;Esprit D&#8217;Escalier"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nocontest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/staircase.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1183\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1183\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nocontest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/staircase-300x235.jpg?resize=300%2C235\" alt=\"staircase\" width=\"300\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nocontest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/staircase.jpg?resize=300%2C235&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nocontest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/staircase.jpg?resize=768%2C601&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nocontest.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/staircase.jpg?w=904&amp;ssl=1 904w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Things have changed, if just a little bit, in ten years.\u00a0From January 2005:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I\u2019ve been hearing dialogue everywhere, dialogue that seems to be coming from the same play.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of party I went to recently, a woman told me that I talk too much.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know how to respond, and left the party shortly afterwards, a bit confounded and mute, and afflicted with what the French call\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jamesedmunds.com\/shoulda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">l&#8217;esprit d&#8217;escalier<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 &#8220;the wit of the staircase&#8221; \u2013 i.e., my mind began filling with all sorts of things I should or could have said.<\/p>\n<p>So: <em>a mind rewind<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Here we go:\u00a0 \u201cBob,\u00a0you talk too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cTrue, true, true, true.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cNot \u2018too much,\u2019 just \u2018much.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIf you subtract the number of times I repeat myself, then you know that at least I don\u2019t\u00a0<i>say<\/i>\u00a0too much.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI can tell you why: You\u2019re not going anywhere, are you?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI just keep going until I find a word that makes you friendly.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cDoes that mean you don\u2019t think I\u2019m interesting?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhat would you suggest I not have said?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Or, finally: \u201cOh throw me away and call it a day.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i>[A friend wrote me later, charmingly: &#8220;You don&#8217;t talk too much.\u00a0 People talk too little.&#8221;]<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><em>repost from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.basil.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">basil.ca<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><em>photo by Robert Basil<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things have changed, if just a little bit, in ten years.\u00a0From January 2005: I\u2019ve been hearing dialogue everywhere, dialogue that seems to be coming from the same play. 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