A Word Between Strangers

WINNERS, WINNERS!!! Okay, Hubby pulled the names out of the hat.

Brandy is the winner of the ARC.

Second places winners: Emmanuelle, Terry Blain and Simply. You guys win either a copy of one of my earlier releases, or if you have all those, you can wait and receive a copy of DD&Deceived when I get my author copies. Email me at christie (at) christie-craig (dot) com.

Contest...Contest.





Today I will be giving away another ARC of Divorced, Desperate and Deceived--which I was notified is a Top Pick by Romantic Times Magazine and received a very positive Publisher's Weekly Review. So make sure you leave a comment to get an early copy.














A Word Between Strangers


A couple weeks back, I sat in the hospital waiting room while my hubby had some out-patient tests. I was surrounded by a variety of strangers--men and women of all varying ages and walks of life. There were grandfather types, newlyweds, and a lot of “middle of the roaders” like myself. I figured some of them to be lawyers, housewives, IRS employees, maybe even a preacher in the mix.

Some of them were alone, a few had company. Some of them seemed preoccupied—probably worried about a loved one. Several had brought reading material. I spotted a couple of romance novels, a Money Magazine and others’ read the Houston Chronicle.

Of course, the television, three of them, hung in every corner of the room, blaring out cable entertainment for the non-readers, or for those who were resting their eyes. Being the friendly sort, I would nod and offer a bit of conversation to my waiting-room companions. Hey, we were together and sharing a word or two just seemed to be the polite thing to do.

But I have to tell you, the words I’d expected to share with strangers that day were NOT “erectile dysfunction, penis enhancement, male enlargement, sexual endurance, vaginal itch and feminine odor.” And that seemed to be what constantly played on the television—over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying these ads are a bad thing. I seriously think it’s good that we can talk about these issues. Erectile dysfunction and feminine itch is a part of life and when you’re dealing with it, it’s a big deal. But as I sat in a room of strangers while the television broadcasted the testimony of a man who claimed a pill actually added inches to his sex organ and his significant other accompanied him in the commercial, smiling ear-to-ear with what my daddy would call a chicken shit grin, well, I found myself getting tickled.

That’s right. I couldn’t help but laugh. Quietly, of course. But with me sitting across from the man who looked like a preacher, it made the situation even funnier.

But it got really funny when after the longer-than-normal commercial about a penis enhancer came an advertisement about feminine odor. I tried to hide my chuckle with a cough.

The poor man turned beet red and refused to look at the television, unfortunately he didn’t have anything to read, so he started humming and staring at his hands. A woman, a grandmotherly type, got caught up in my mood and leaned over and whispered, “I remember the day I couldn’t tell people I was pregnant. And now a man goes on television and admits he has size issues.”

We both chuckled and instantly several others across the room also started chuckling. Hey, it was one of those awkward moments that ignoring it didn’t make it go away—we didn’t have the clicker to change channels—so laughing at it just made it feel a little better. Well, most people felt better, I’m not sure the red-faced man got into the humor mode, at least not until after the feminine odor aired and following it came a commercial about the very natural-feeling condoms showing an eager couple wanting to buy out the whole stock. Almost the whole room burst out laughing. Right then even the red-faced gentleman cracked a smile.

Ahh, but the entire situation got me thinking about conversation etiquette. I can’t remember when I was first educated in proper “conversation,” but I remember the rule: no discussions of politics or religion were to be brought up in social situations with people who were not more than casual acquaintances. We didn’t even list no-nos like sex or the size of a man’s Johnson, because it was a no-no just to put it on the list. Sure it might be discussed between girlfriends—girlfriends have forever discussed these no-no topics, but with strangers? I don’t think so.

Well, today, good or bad, at least where television is concerned, there seems to be no conversation etiquette. The sky, or I guess I should say, a man’s Johnson, is the limit. But for me, someone who even writes romances, and I admit, I use lots of sex humor in my books, it will be a while before I lean over to a stranger and just casually discuss feminine itch.

So, what about you guys? What do you think of conversation etiquette? Have you been in a situation that an inappropriate conversation has had you snickering or turning red?

Come on, leave a comment and let’s laugh a little. And remember, everyone who leaves a comment will be entered in the contest to received an ARC of Divoriced, Desperate and Deceived.

Crime Scene Christie