A Funny Moment

Marsha Dhingra and I met for dinner a few nights ago. Just as we were beginning to eat our salads, a family sat at the table next to us – mom, dad, uncle, 10 or 11-year-old boy, 7 or 8-year-old girl. They weren't especially loud and did not intrude on our tete-a-tete while we caught up with each other.

At one point when Marsha and I were quite engaged in our conversation, the boy at the next table, being his age, cut loose with a noisy, cheek-flapping, unmistakable noxious gas emission. Marsha and I looked at each other – mutually wondering if we should pretend we didn't hear and keep on talking or admit that it happened. If we were to consciously accept what happened, how does one react appropriately to this "inappropriate" act in a public setting?

That decision hung in the air as we looked over at the table – the kid was alternately delighted and embarrassed, the father was smothering laughter, the mother was horrified, the uncle was inscrutable, the daughter was oblivious. No way could we pretend that what happened hadn't happened. Their table was looking at our table to see what we were going to do.

All this happened in a split second. That one moment could have gone a multitude of ways – in fact, it already had.

My response: as I nodded to the kid, "Good one!" And we all cracked up laughing, including the mom. The slight tension in the room immediately evaporated.

(Having three younger brothers and many nephews helped shape my spontaneous choice of action.)