I tried asking my dad about his time in the army and his answer about a place called Da Nang made me see him differently.

3 comments

3 Comments

My uncle was in the navy and never talked about it. I found his old photo album and just left it open on the kitchen table to a page with his ship. He saw it and sat down, and that was it. He just started talking about the guys in the picture, their names and where they were from. Sometimes giving them a way in without asking a direct question works better.

mason_fisher26d ago

Yeah, that "way in without asking" is so smart.

ruby_jones26d ago

But you know, sometimes that feels like a trick... like you're trying to get around them. If someone doesn't want to talk, maybe they have a good reason. Mason_fisher called it smart, but it can also put people on the spot in a weird way. They see the album and now feel like they have to say something, even if it hurts. A direct question is at least honest, you know where you stand. This way just feels like a softer kind of pressure.