NEVER try to teach a PIG to sing

For those among us who are concrete thinkers and take everything literally, and you know who you are, I am not advising against actually teaching a pig to sing. This is a metaphorical saying that implies that there are certain things that are doomed to failure because of the mismatch between the capabilities of the student and the wants of the teacher. Everyone has had this experience at one time or another in life. Whether it is trying to show your wife how to control the surround sound feature on your combined TV-internet-iTV-Ipad media station that looks like it was designed by NASA or her trying to show you the correctness of not leaving your underwear on the floor, the RCA dog with his head tilted and a vacant stare in his eyes best resembles the situation.

After repeated efforts, or so the story goes, the pig becomes annoyed, and you become angry at the impasse. What could have been a pleasant moment between two people has turned into an argument over meanness v stupidity claims by the respective parties. It all could have been avoided by following the simple rule. That is not to say that your wife and or husband may or may not actually be a pig, rather I am attempting to draw a comparison between trying to get a point across to those who for one reason or another "don't get it" and the obvious cognitive dissonance between the aforementioned pig and the voice coach. So next time you see frustration in yourself or the person you are attempting to "show" how to do something, reflect that this may be a "Pig" moment and politely back away. You will thank me for it. Also someone will not wind up sleeping in the barn.