2017年12月1日金曜日 - 
Tony Purchase: An Anecdote
We collect things as we get older: friends and
acquaintances; favorite books, albums, or movies; aches and pains. Whether beloved or bemoaned, they serve as
proof of a life lived.
Our anecdotes are such a
collection. They are acquired slowly and survive through meritocracy. A
story that is positively received justifies its place in our repertoire. Over time,
the best anecdotes get polished in the telling until they are little gems that we
gift to the conversation. The
cream of the crop.
Any
collector can tell you that the longer you live with a collection, the more you
need to curate it. Consider a museum. Only a fraction of the
collection is on display. The rest is squirreled away until
the time comes again for it to be trotted out of storage, dusted off, and enjoyed
in the open again. Otherwise, museums would be hopeless jumbles of treasures,
yesterday's interests, and forgotten trash.
As
it is with the curated exhibits of museums so it must be with our anecdotes.
When our stories have lost their audience we must let these stories go. They
are just part of a collection after all.
Permit
me an example. I have a story about meeting a clown, and his sock puppet dog, on a
bus when I was twelve. It's a hilarious, heartwarming story of generosity and simpler times. At least it was thirty years ago. I haven't told
that story in over twenty-five years. The clown was a local celebrity, but if
you'd never heard of him, that context is lost. Since I was twelve, the perception of clowns
has changed so much that the tone of the story is at odds with present-day sensibilities. Funny
stories are only funny stories in the right time and place, and the time and
place for that story is gone. So, down to the basement it goes. Not lost mind
you. Just not for public display.
As participants in
conversation it is our responsibility to curate our conversation, using current
vocabulary and concepts that are shared and understood so that our meaning is conveyed most
effectively, and this extends to our anecdotes as well.
To succeed as a conversationalist isn't
simply a matter of mastering vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Those are
simply the building blocks, the raw material. By understanding who we are
speaking to and tailoring the content of our
remarks to them we can achieve communication. At it's heart communication is an
intimate exchange. A joining of minds through ideas and
information. Consider the word 'commune'. A verb that shares the same Latin
root with communication. To commune is to be in an intimate state of
receptivity, to converse intimately. Intimacy demands an understanding of who,
or what, you are communing with.
Acquaintances：知り合い
beloved： 愛される
bemoaned：悲しまされる
anecdotes：逸話/ネタ
meritocracy：能力主義
repertoire：レパートリー
The cream of the crop：厳選された
Curate：精選する
Fraction：分数
squirreled away：ため込まれる
trotted out：披露される
dusted off：埃を払って再び使う用意をされる
Otherwise：さもないと
Jumbles：ごちゃまぜにする
sock puppet：靴下で作った人形
hilarious：楽しい
heartwarming：心温まる
generosity：寛大さ
perception：認識
at odds with：～に合致しない
present-day ：現代
sensibilities：感性
participants：参加者
conveyed：伝えられる
extends：広がる
tailoring：合わせる
intimate：深い