SPEAK UP - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #13
It’s Sunday morning again and I have three weeks of Saturday crosswords to do. Will this toil ever end? Oh, and thanks for subscribing. Happy Sunday!
SPEAK UP
I was 11 and I loved shooting aliens.
I ventured down the old stairs of the old variety store towards the sounds of bleeps, blurps and bells.
On the final step, I clutched my dollar bill in hand and surveyed what was available. Pinball machines, Asteroids… aha! Space Invaders. Paper bills don’t work in arcade games of the early eighties so I ventured over to the grizzled old man behind the counter. I say ‘grizzled old’ in that way that anyone over 25 looks grizzled and old to an 11 year old. He was probably 26.
As was de rigueur in that time, he clutched a cigarette and blew smoke just above my head as I approached. He remained silent as I reached the counter.
I had chosen the time of my visit to this subterranean arcade very carefully to avoid much competition for the Space Invaders machine. Every moment I stood at the counter without quarters was one moment closer to some other 11 year old coming in and blasting those marauding aliens that I should be blasting.
I finally mustered the courage to whisper, “Could I get four quarters, please?”
I can vividly remember feeling panicked at breaking the silence with what felt like a cry for help, despite being barely audible.
The wise old 26 year old leaned over the counter, considerately blowing cigarette smoke out of the side of his mouth, and spoke, “You’ll never get nothing in life if you don’t speak up! Now what do you want?”
“Four quarters, please!” I responded loudly and in a panic.
“That’s better,” he smiled, took my dollar bill and gave me my quarters.
I went on to get high score on Space Invaders that day… nah, I’m just kidding, I was terrible at it.
However, I’ve often thought back to that simple lesson.
If people don’t know what you want, they’ll never know what you want.
So, you have to speak up.
Provided you’re polite, considerate and not just using people, don’t miss your chance to ask for what you want.
Everyone is distracted. Everyone is preoccupied. Making people guess what you want helps no one.
A raise, a new whatever, a picture with someone, a night out, a kiss, a favour, some advice, a conversation… if you want it, don’t wait for your boss/partner/friend/loved one/whoever to figure it out, speak up.
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Young boy rocks plaid shirt on way to defeat invaders from space. Classmates support.