Totally true fact — as a New Yorker living in The South, I do NOT always understand what people are saying to me. The accents, the idioms …

I CAN’T keep asking people to clarify or repeat things every time this happens. This town would grind to a halt.

So if I respond inappropriately or not at all to something you’ve said to me, Roanokers, please know that I can’t help it. A lot of your upbeat utterances kinda blend together for me. We could be talking about American Idol, the Spanish American War, three-cheese omelettes, the Nikkei Stock Index, whatever. I JUST DON’T KNOW.