Clean Your Room

Clean Your Room

“You’re not bringing that in the house. You’re not bringing that in the house. You’re not bringing that in the house...”

“What?”

“What, what?”

“What is who not supposed to bring in the house?”

“Oh, I was just working out a line.”

“Huh?”

“Well the line changes meaning wherever you put the emphasis.”

“Huh?”

“Well, if you say, “You’re not bringing that in the house.’ You’re saying you can’t, but maybe somebody else can. If you say, ‘You’re not bringing that in the house.’ You’re saying the thing is not coming in this house. If you say, “You’re not bringing that in the house,” you’re saying that particular thing is never coming in the house. And if you say, “You’re not bringing that in the house,” You’re saying that it can go someplace else, but not in the house. It’s all a matter of emphasis.”

“How do to do that on paper?”

“Different ways, sometimes you set up the situation, sometimes you can just use italics so the person gets a clue as to where you are directing them. People read things the way they are thinking at that moment. It’s really easy for people to read something and get a completely different meaning from what you were attempting to say when you wrote it.”

“What is this particular line in reference to?”

“Zort is dragging a corpse across the front and his mother meets him at the door of their cave.”

“Zort?”

“From Traffalon...”

“And what is he dragging?”

“A buffalot...”

“Ah. When you’re done, clean your room. The manager is coming to inspect the apartment today.”

“OK Mum! You’re not bringing that in the house... You’re not bringing that in the house...”

Twenty years later he bought the entire building for his mother, for her birthday.