It's a slippery slope. People who are bad storytellers themselves often project the same weakness onto others.

For example, someone in the family recently watched an old TV movie called Walking Tall. I asked what it was about. Got a long rambling answer that could have been summarized in four words: small town crime drama.

That same weekend we discussed plans for installing a catio off the home office. A catio is an enclosed cage that lets indoor cats enjoy fresh air.

That same person who had rambled about the TV movie cut me off eight times and walked away thinking I didn't want a catio.

Actually I think a catio is a great idea. For safety reasons it needs to be built higher off the ground than he was planning. FIV is a deadly disease in our area; our cats could catch it if they get into a fight with a neighborhood stray. So the bottom of the catio needs to be at window level to keep those animals separated.

He rambles about inane topics so he assumes I do the same. The catio probably won't get built now.