The other night, a friend and I stopped at a gas station just outside Nashville on our way home from the Montgomery Gentry video shoot.  I went inside to grab some snacks for the late night drive home and my interaction with the attendant (we’ll call him George) went something like this:

George: Is that gonna do it for ya?

Me: Yep. (Pause) Oh, and this Powerbar. Don’t know why I kept it in my hand.

George: Do you have cash? Cause you can’t pay with a credit or debit card for that.

Me: I can’t use my debit card?

George: Not for that. Everything else is fine except for that. It’s against the law to pay for it with a credit card.

Me: It’s against the law to pay for the Powerbar with my credit card? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.

George: Where are you from, son?

Me: Birmingham. But why does that matter?

George: Well, up here it’s illegal to pay for that with a credit or debit card.

Me: That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Why in the world would that be illegal?

George: Well, they probably don’t want people running up debt by coming in here buying a bunch of them all at the same time.

Me: That’s hilarious! Stupidest law I’ve ever heard of in my life. I can’t believe it’s illegal in Tennessee to pay for a Powerbar with my credit or debit card no matter how many I want to buy at one time. I should be able to buy as many as I want even if in this case it only happens to be one.

George: Did you say “Powerbar?” I thought you said “PowerBall.”

Funny how one small misunderstood word can change an entire conversation.  Communication would be much more effective if we would just back up and clarify what we said instead of expecting the other person to magically understand where we’re coming from.