Yuma, AZ. You don't have to be in a snowbird town more than a couple hours before somebody pops the question. Yep, that question. I've tried everything:
What question am I talking about? Aw come on, in a snowbird capital like Yuma? There's something about the body language that usually gives the culprit away, but sometimes they blindside you.
"Soooooooo, where 'ya from?" My entire body locks up in a wince. The worst culprits are those who insist on taking a deadpan answer as a challenge. You can just see the wheels turning in their little head: they simply must discover that their third wife's ex-step-sister-in-law once had a neighbor who taught school in the town you just mentioned, and that you have heard of her.
When they finally discover this tiny linkage, pertaining to a metropolis of 2.4 million people or a corporation with 173,000 employees, they insist on trying to turn it into a conversation. Honestly, I'm more interested in whether 'itz gonna get windy today.'
Well, maybe that's not the worst. There are actually people in a snowbird capital like Yuma who don't know what a full-time RVer is; nor do they understand how tedious it is for us to explain 'how we get our mail.'
The best solution is to do laundry or go grocery shopping at a place that's open 24 hours.
- boycotting the question in a obviously jocular manner;
- ignoring the question, and immediately changing the subject to, say, the weather or the condition of the roads;
- groaning out loud;
- pausing for a noticeable period of time, then sighing, before finally giving a desultory and halting answer. (This is aimed at making them feel guilty.)
What question am I talking about? Aw come on, in a snowbird capital like Yuma? There's something about the body language that usually gives the culprit away, but sometimes they blindside you.
"Soooooooo, where 'ya from?" My entire body locks up in a wince. The worst culprits are those who insist on taking a deadpan answer as a challenge. You can just see the wheels turning in their little head: they simply must discover that their third wife's ex-step-sister-in-law once had a neighbor who taught school in the town you just mentioned, and that you have heard of her.
When they finally discover this tiny linkage, pertaining to a metropolis of 2.4 million people or a corporation with 173,000 employees, they insist on trying to turn it into a conversation. Honestly, I'm more interested in whether 'itz gonna get windy today.'
Well, maybe that's not the worst. There are actually people in a snowbird capital like Yuma who don't know what a full-time RVer is; nor do they understand how tedious it is for us to explain 'how we get our mail.'
The best solution is to do laundry or go grocery shopping at a place that's open 24 hours.
Comments
Works for me (but then I'm only half joking). :)
This Snowbird just landed in the wind and dust of North Yuma at about 10:00-10:30. I'll be faced with The Question very soon.
I have lots of experience with snowbirds and have my own opinions and my own curiosity is limited to identifying snowbirds from Long Island. I've not had much luck having an interesting conversation with LI people. The first comment when any two from LI identify one another is that the water in NY is so much better than here (where ever that might be)
But I guess you are right -- asking where they're from is a harmless way to 'put the ball into play.'
Perhaps I'm too quick to conclude that if they start off with a totally predictable and trite question, the conversation will just keep sinking into commonplaces and cliches.