“Don’t talk.”
That order has been directed to us more than any other single command.
First recollection was kindergarten when we were supposed to rest on our rugs, and
Miss Kala kept insisting: “Don’t talk.”
Of course, that never did any good, and we’re still talking too much decades
later.
Reminder came Saturday at a horse show we were judging when a contestant complained to the steward that “the judges were talking to each other.”
That probably doesn’t sound like a crime, and it wasn’t. But, for some reason,
certain people think one judge is telling the other how to place a class.
Only reason to have more than one judge is for different opinions. No two people see
anything exactly the same. So, they’re never going to place all classes alike.
Besides, we’re not using anybody else’s opinion of a horse. We know what we like, and we’re paid for our judgment.
Yet, we do like to visit with other officials after a class to review what they saw
that we didn’t and vice-versa.
Interesting that exhibitor concern is from newcomers to horseshows. Two decades ago, we ran into that when Miniature Horse shows were starting.
Rulebooks ordered: “No talking between judges.” For a few years, every show had exhibitor complaints about “the judges talking.” Now, the rule is gone from printed
guidelines. We talk freeing without concern, but numbers on each card are our own.
Throughout our school days, teachers were always ordering us: “Don’t talk.” We had more reprimands that anyone in elementary school. High school was stricter, so we
were in trouble more. Despite college being less formal, we’d still get an occasional: “Don’t talk.”
Lots of water under the bridge in our professional career, but at meetings, quite
places, etc., we’re still ordered: “Don’t talk.”
True, we often “put our boot in our mouth,” saying the wrong thing. But, many problems in the world are because “people don’t talk about things that need talked
about.”
Mom always liked to talk, so we’ll blame her for our characteristic: “We like to talk.”
Reminds us that many might wonder like Job 8:1: “How can you keep on talking?” Yet, the main thing is when we know Job 40:3: “I’ve talked too much, way too much. I’m ready to keep quiet and listen.”
+++ALLELUIA+++