I wish the problem was isolated to just a few words that I could learn and avoid. But not so much. I couple of years ago I went to a small hardware store to bu

I wish the problem was isolated to just a few words that I could learn and avoid. But not so much. I couple of years ago I went to a small hardware store to buy a shovel. I couldn't find what I needed so asked the clerk, who looked at me strangely and got prickly and hostile, like I was weirdo asking for something weird. They didn't have what I wanted and I left. About a week later it dawned on me. The clerk was a black man, the only one in the village. I had asked for spade, the kind of shovel with a pointy end for breaking ground. Apparently he had taken it as a slur, and that I had been playing some kind of game with him. Sorry about that. I suppose I should have asked for a shovel with a pointy end.