Coming out of a large household goods store, I noticed a
familiar face walking to the bus stop. "Don't you live in my
neighborhood?" I inquired. "Would you like a ride back?" I
introduced myself and my grateful passenger smiled in
appreciation as she slipped into the car.
After asking where exactly she lived, I was stuck for what to
say next. She seemed kind of shy. "Are you working?" I asked
hesitantly.
"Oh, actually I'm looking for work." she answered.
"Anything particular?" I continued to inquire.
"Oh, no, nothing in particular. I've done a little of this
and that, but unfortunately my Hebrew isn't so good, which
limits me."
Now, I was really stuck for what to talk about. I couldn't
ask about her husband. Although she was wearing a
sheitel, you still never knew if that's not a good
topic. Same thing with kids. Even if she did have kids, what
if I asked where they learned and it turned out to be a
touchy subject? One really had to be careful with onaas
d'varim when talking to a stranger.
"Do you like this store?" I figured it was a neutral enough
question.
"Too much — that's why I only bring cash. I came to buy
a wedding present, but I knew I would be tempted to buy many
other things if I had a credit card with me," she replied.
"Actually, I bought an item I hadn't planned on purchasing,"
I said. "I found this great large pot at a fantastic price.
It was really too good to pass up. I had been considering
buying another large pot, as the family seemed to have
outgrown my standard size pots, bli ein hara. When I
saw this one, I knew that the time had come to move up to a
larger size pot." I explained " I just have one problem, I
don't have anywhere to put it."
And that's when my pot became a conversation piece. My
passenger became quite animated, as she made possible
suggestions where one could store an oversized pot in an
undersized kitchen.
"How about under the smaller pots? Or hang it from one of
those cute ceiling baskets. They're very practical." She
enthused.
In the end, I never did learn very much about my passenger
that day, but at least I was able to save her and myself from
any potentially embarrassing questions. You could sort of say
that we were saved by the pot.
