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> I was out for a drink with a friend. > As we settled in, George asked about my life and how I was feeling. > “I’m good. Busy!" > He stared blankly through

> I was out for a drink with a friend. > As we settled in, George asked about my life and how I was feeling. > “I’m good. Busy!" > He stared blankly through my empty words. > Feeling the pressure of his gaze, I adjusted myself and added that living in California had begun to wear on me, it being so far from my parents on the East Coast. > George: “How often do you see your parents?" > Me: “Maybe once a year now.” > George: “And how old are they?" > Me: “Mid-sixties." > George: “Ok, so you’re going to see them 15 more times before they die.” ... > It wasn’t meant to be rude—it was just…math. There's something to think about in all this but I really can't get over imagining what a weird dude George is.

pastor_bob 4y ago
Probably a made up story for a twitter thread.
- loceng 4y ago
  So then the author inherits the weird title? I could easily see more blunt-autistic types being so practical, straight-forward though.
- hammock 4y ago
  Not sure why you're being downvoted. I've seen this story repeated at least three times by different people. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33066955 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33066955
  - marginalia_nu 4y ago
    Yeah, the whole story has that quality where you half expect the entire bus to stand up and give an applause at the end.
  - SamBam 4y ago
    Or, once someone has heard the story, they are more likely to bring it up again, continuing the cycle. I genuinely plan on mentioning this to my wife this evening. Not in a "let's move to live near my parents" way, but just as a way of bringing up that time is valuable. If she then mentions to someone that I said this, will they say "I don't believe you, I've heard this story before?"
  - samatman 4y ago
    It seems at least as likely that a Roe Jogan listener might enact that story with a friend, as that they would just hear it and then make up a story where they ask the question. It's of course quite pointless to speculate about the truth or fiction of an Internet story starring people you don't know. I wonder about the people who think it's implausible however. Do you never discuss difficult things with your friends? Whether to marry the girl/guy/human, how many times you'll see your parents again, how's your cousin's health, that kind of thing? That's supposed to be normal, I worry that what y'all would call friends is what I would call colleagues or casual acquaintances.
- skellera 4y ago
  Yeah, versions of this story is making rounds on twitter/linkedin/fb. Then again, it could be true. More likely to come up in conversation since people are reading it everywhere.
jefftk 4y ago
Weird, but effective!
- lo_zamoyski 4y ago
  It's weird people think it's weird. Making perhaps unpleasant but relevant and topical observations that help a friend isn't weird. It's charitable. The author brought up the fact that he would like to see his parents more often. George simply threw some light on the obvious in order to help a friend who is waffling and hesitating and wasting time instead of making the right decision. It was an obvious inference based on the stated facts and an important thing for the author to understand so that he could live a better life. It wasn't arbitrary, it wasn't nosy or intrusive or rude (if the author's story is accurate).
hobs 4y ago
I had this conversation randomly with a friend, I was George. It surprised me how hard this hit them, and that they've talked about it many times since then because yeah, its just a little strategic thinking about the world.
- Scottopherson 4y ago
  I became George after comedian Aziz Ansari had bit on one of his Netflix specials where he does math on how many times you can expect to see your parents.
lucozade 4y ago
> I really can't get over imagining what a weird dude George is. Unless he's a real estate agent.
- fernanDOTdo 4y ago
  Touché
spcebar 4y ago
"Did you and George have a good time?" "Sort of. He stared at me blankly for a while, and then he told me my parents were going to die soon." "..." "Do you want to move to the East Coast?" "Sure."
gorjusborg 4y ago
Yeah, I get the feeling George may not exist outside of the author's imagination. Sure, there could be back story that fed that interaction, but I'm betting that didn't happen and it is a way of framing an unpopular decision in a flattering light.
- Tobani 4y ago
  Or there was a much longer conversation with twists and turns and the author distilled it for the format.
  - unglaublich 4y ago
    Or you don't know and there's no point in guessing.
- sbaiddn 4y ago
  There are Georges everywhere, and Id be surprised if that convo was much more complicated than posted
dijit 4y ago
I'm not George, but hell if I'm not guilty of saying things like this when actively listening.
sbaiddn 4y ago
I find myself being that George all the time. Once I apparently convinced a friend of a friend of a friend (ie a stranger) to make another baby. I only know this because when I saw these people two years later they had an extra kid in tow and thanked me for convincing them to make a plunge. I have no idea what I said, but they were adamant that I shoved them over the fence. Another time I got a kid in undergrad admit to me that he wasn't going to the job fairs because he was expected to go to grad school. I pointed out to him that applying to a job is a skill, and a hard one at that. I also told him that just because you apply for a job doesn't mean you'll take it. His jaw dropped at that realization (he's first gen Korean-American). If you want to be George all you need to do is say basic, obvious, truths everyone pretends to ignore.

pastor_bob 4y ago

Probably a made up story for a twitter thread.

loceng 4y ago
So then the author inherits the weird title? I could easily see more blunt-autistic types being so practical, straight-forward though.
hammock 4y ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted. I've seen this story repeated at least three times by different people. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33066955 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33066955
- marginalia_nu 4y ago
  Yeah, the whole story has that quality where you half expect the entire bus to stand up and give an applause at the end.
- SamBam 4y ago
  Or, once someone has heard the story, they are more likely to bring it up again, continuing the cycle. I genuinely plan on mentioning this to my wife this evening. Not in a "let's move to live near my parents" way, but just as a way of bringing up that time is valuable. If she then mentions to someone that I said this, will they say "I don't believe you, I've heard this story before?"
- samatman 4y ago
  It seems at least as likely that a Roe Jogan listener might enact that story with a friend, as that they would just hear it and then make up a story where they ask the question. It's of course quite pointless to speculate about the truth or fiction of an Internet story starring people you don't know. I wonder about the people who think it's implausible however. Do you never discuss difficult things with your friends? Whether to marry the girl/guy/human, how many times you'll see your parents again, how's your cousin's health, that kind of thing? That's supposed to be normal, I worry that what y'all would call friends is what I would call colleagues or casual acquaintances.
skellera 4y ago
Yeah, versions of this story is making rounds on twitter/linkedin/fb. Then again, it could be true. More likely to come up in conversation since people are reading it everywhere.

jefftk 4y ago

Weird, but effective!

lo_zamoyski 4y ago
It's weird people think it's weird. Making perhaps unpleasant but relevant and topical observations that help a friend isn't weird. It's charitable. The author brought up the fact that he would like to see his parents more often. George simply threw some light on the obvious in order to help a friend who is waffling and hesitating and wasting time instead of making the right decision. It was an obvious inference based on the stated facts and an important thing for the author to understand so that he could live a better life. It wasn't arbitrary, it wasn't nosy or intrusive or rude (if the author's story is accurate).

hobs 4y ago

I had this conversation randomly with a friend, I was George. It surprised me how hard this hit them, and that they've talked about it many times since then because yeah, its just a little strategic thinking about the world.

Scottopherson 4y ago
I became George after comedian Aziz Ansari had bit on one of his Netflix specials where he does math on how many times you can expect to see your parents.

lucozade 4y ago

> I really can't get over imagining what a weird dude George is. Unless he's a real estate agent.

fernanDOTdo 4y ago
Touché

spcebar 4y ago

"Did you and George have a good time?" "Sort of. He stared at me blankly for a while, and then he told me my parents were going to die soon." "..." "Do you want to move to the East Coast?" "Sure."

gorjusborg 4y ago

Yeah, I get the feeling George may not exist outside of the author's imagination. Sure, there could be back story that fed that interaction, but I'm betting that didn't happen and it is a way of framing an unpopular decision in a flattering light.

Tobani 4y ago
Or there was a much longer conversation with twists and turns and the author distilled it for the format.
- unglaublich 4y ago
  Or you don't know and there's no point in guessing.
sbaiddn 4y ago
There are Georges everywhere, and Id be surprised if that convo was much more complicated than posted

dijit 4y ago

I'm not George, but hell if I'm not guilty of saying things like this when actively listening.

sbaiddn 4y ago

I find myself being that George all the time. Once I apparently convinced a friend of a friend of a friend (ie a stranger) to make another baby. I only know this because when I saw these people two years later they had an extra kid in tow and thanked me for convincing them to make a plunge. I have no idea what I said, but they were adamant that I shoved them over the fence. Another time I got a kid in undergrad admit to me that he wasn't going to the job fairs because he was expected to go to grad school. I pointed out to him that applying to a job is a skill, and a hard one at that. I also told him that just because you apply for a job doesn't mean you'll take it. His jaw dropped at that realization (he's first gen Korean-American). If you want to be George all you need to do is say basic, obvious, truths everyone pretends to ignore.