The Air Conditioner is running

 Communication is a tough skill to master. It is something that you have to work on almost every day. One of the main problems we have with communicating is our inability to listen. Sometimes we are so quick to make assessments of what we hear that we miss the message. This reminds me of a incident that happened many years ago. The story goes like this:

In the late 1970s I would run for exercise. (Now I walk.) I had a designated route that I followed when I needed to make a short, quick run. I started in front of our house and ran approximately seven tenths of a mile around an extended block. Then I finished where I started. I usually tried to run three laps, giving me a quick two-mile run.

 Across the street from us lived a lady named Ms. Jane. She was a single woman who worked multiple jobs in order to provide for herself and her son. She was of a rather direct nature, which led to a disagreement between my wife and her. The conflict began when my wife asked her politely to keep her German Shepherd dog from coming onto our property. At that time there were no leash laws in the small town of Adamsville. So, often when our son would try to play outside in our yard, her dog would bark and chase him back into the house. This happened repeatedly and finally my wife asked her to keep her dog chained up. Jane did not respond in a positive way to Rosalind's request. Therefore, there was a tension that was created between them. Jane would not even speak to Rosalind when they would cross paths. This continued for several months and even into years.

Well, that is the the backstory to my experience with Jane. Incidentally, she had never failed to speak to me. I had taught her son, Roy, in school and we basically communicated without conflict. But on one particular day, I decided to go for a quick run. I started out at a good clip and, as I finished the first lap, I noticed that Jane was sitting in a lawn chair reading the newspaper on her carport. As I ran past her place, I waved to her and said, "Jane how are you doing?" She was in hearing distance but she did not respond. I repeated it again but there was no response. Well, that really made me mad! After all, I had always tried to speak to everyone, especially those who speak to me first.

So I continued running on around the large block.  As I completed my second lap, I noticed that she was still on the carport reading her newspaper. This time I was not going to speak to her. In fact, I only cut my eyes in her direction. I was going to ignore her just like she had ignored me on that first lap. 

But then as I was completing my third lap and feeling somewhat fatigued, I decided that if she was still on the carport, I would confront her! Surprising to me, Jane was still there--in her lawn chair reading her newspaper. So as I came to end of my run, I one more time said, "Jane how are you doing?" Again she did not respond. I called to her again only to get the same result! 

So I made up my mind to walk up her gravel drive of about twenty  yards toward her.  Closer I came. I repeated my question loudly to her TWO MORE TIMES. Each time my question seemed to be ignored.

I wasn't about to stop now! And as I called out yet one more time, being practically on the carport by then, she responded, "Do what? I can't hear you!  The air conditioner is running." Her window air conditioner was vented outside onto her carport. The day was hot and it was running almost continuously.  She had never heard me a single time except at the end. We made some small talk and parted on friendly terms.  And that day I returned home with a life lesson.

How many times has the air conditioner been running in my attempts to communicate with others? I wonder what would have happened to our relationship with Jane had I not walked up that driveway and approached her. For the last many years, my wife and she have been good friends. We help to take care of her as she has gotten older; she watches our place faithfully and waters our plants for us when we are away.

It is a reminder to us all to ponder on what the scripture says in James 1:19, "....let everyone be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get angry..."  The next time you have a difficult time communicating with someone, ask yourself,  "Is the air conditioner running?"