A salesman returns from a long road trip to Europe, having left
his beloved cat in his brother's care. The minute he lands in the
States and clears customs, he calls his brother and inquires about his
pet.
"The cat's dead," replies his brother bluntly.
The salesman is devastated. "You know how much that cat meant to me," he sobs into the phone, "Couldn't you at least have given a little thought into a nicer way of breaking that news to me? For instance you could have said, 'Well you know, the cat got out of the house one day and climbed up on the roof, and the fire department couldn't get her down, and finally she died of exposure, or starvation or something?' Why are you always so thoughtless?"
"Look I'm really, really, sorry," says his brother. "I'll try to do better next time, I swear."
"Okay, let's just put this ugly incident behind us," said the high strung salesman. "How are you anyway? How's Mom?"
There was a brief pause, "Uh," the brother finally stammers, "uh,.... Mom got out of the house one day and climbed up on the roof...."
Moral of the story. A sales professional who travels a lot and lives alone, should know better than to get a pet. It's not fair to the pet or the your relatives you coerce into looking after it while you are away. Second, with the advent of the internet, road warriors can now stay in touch with their family via email, Google phone, Hangout sessions or other forms of video chat. With so many different ways of staying in touch, you now have no excuse not to. When it comes to communication with family members, make sure the cat doesn't got your tongue.
"Everything comes to those who wait..... except a cat." - Mario Andretti
"The cat's dead," replies his brother bluntly.
The salesman is devastated. "You know how much that cat meant to me," he sobs into the phone, "Couldn't you at least have given a little thought into a nicer way of breaking that news to me? For instance you could have said, 'Well you know, the cat got out of the house one day and climbed up on the roof, and the fire department couldn't get her down, and finally she died of exposure, or starvation or something?' Why are you always so thoughtless?"
"Look I'm really, really, sorry," says his brother. "I'll try to do better next time, I swear."
"Okay, let's just put this ugly incident behind us," said the high strung salesman. "How are you anyway? How's Mom?"
There was a brief pause, "Uh," the brother finally stammers, "uh,.... Mom got out of the house one day and climbed up on the roof...."
Moral of the story. A sales professional who travels a lot and lives alone, should know better than to get a pet. It's not fair to the pet or the your relatives you coerce into looking after it while you are away. Second, with the advent of the internet, road warriors can now stay in touch with their family via email, Google phone, Hangout sessions or other forms of video chat. With so many different ways of staying in touch, you now have no excuse not to. When it comes to communication with family members, make sure the cat doesn't got your tongue.
"Everything comes to those who wait..... except a cat." - Mario Andretti
