Small Talk

crimes and misdemeanors . 123
story. There’s no need to rush to the next. It’s like hurrying
through a glass of fine wine—you miss most of the
experience in the rush to complete it!
Be aware of one of the most prevalent one-upping
statements circulating these days: Been there, done that. In
one very short sentence, the person uttering those four
words is saying that the story is old news, that there is
nothing else to say about that topic. It lets the other person
know, in no uncertain terms, that his experience is
universal and he can spare the rest of us the details of
such a boring story. Crime stoppers report that it is
tough to topple the one-upper, who is quite successful in
crushing the conversation to death. Those still standing
usually attempt to regroup in a clandestine fashion to
prevent another crime.
Lindsay is a great person, but in her attempts to relate,
she’s sometimes guilty of being a one-upper. Too
many times when someone is sharing the details of an experience,
she will interrupt to say, essentially, Oh yes, that
happened to me, too ... She confessed to me that her friend
Judy was telling the story about her vacation to South
America. They were on the Amazon River, when a huge
scorpion bit a woman in their party. Lindsay broke in: “I