The Merry-Go-Round

by Steven Emerson

"I like to travel in this car."

"I like to travel in this car too, in addition to other cars."

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"I believe we should always like each other. Gee, I really like blue skies."

"I myself like green grass."

"I think blue is the best color."

"Actually, green is."

"Are we going to have another argument?"

"We may have another argument if we both want to have one, otherwise we won't."

"On some days I don't like you as much when we argue."

"On some days I don't like you whether we argue or not."

"Do you like me on most days?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me on most days?"

"I love you on most days and I like you on most days."

"Do you ever wish you had married someone else?"

"Sometimes, but I usually don't when we are going for a drive -- like today."

"Sometimes I wish you were a better man, but I realize that any man I married would disappoint me sometimes."

"Yes, you would marry him and then wonder what the other men would be like."

"Sometimes I feel just fine and sometimes I think there is more than that. But going for a drive is just fine and I'm not sure there's anything better."

"You make a good point."

"Where are we going?"

"To the mountains."

"Why are we going to the mountains?"

"I thought you wanted to go to the mountains."

"No, actually I wanted to go the beach."

"Oh, shall I turn around?"

"No, we might as well go to the mountains. Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Do you like the dress I'm wearing?"

"Yes."

"Do you like my hair?"

"Yes."

"Do you like everything about me?"

"Yes."

"Do you dislike everything about me?"

"Yes."

"Why are you always saying 'Yes'?"

"I'm sorry, I was thinking."

"What were you thinking about?"

"If you pull down the File menu on some applications, the exit option it is labelled 'Quit', but on other applications, it is labelled 'Exit'. There is a lack of consistency there."

"Do you want to know what I've been thinking about?"

"Yes."

"I've been thinking about an island where we could go to together. We could go there and stay there forever and be in love. And there would be lots of blue ocean and lots of blue sky."

"And green grass too."

"Did you know I hand-picked all those tomotoes for the soup I made?"

"Yes, you told me."

"Did you turn off the burner before we left?"

"No, I thought you did."

"But I thought you did."

"This means that neither of us turned off the burner."

"Is our house going to burn down?"

"If the ingredients in the pot catch fire, then indeed our house may burn down."

"Do you think our marriage is working?"

"I think that it is working sometimes, but many times I wish it worked better."

"Me too. You're a nice man, and a good-looking one. I dress nicely, and I look pretty on sunny days. My face even looks beautiful in the moonlight. Do you remember when you told me that?"

"Yes."

"Do you think we should get a divorce?"

"I don't know. You might get a divorce and then regret it tomorrow."

"Maybe we should get a divorce and then remarry later."

"I think that's a good idea."


Copyright © 1995
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