I have a hard time saying the word caulk, among other words.  I don’t know why.  My mouth just can’t seem to get around some sounds in words.  It could be related to all the ear infections and hearing loss I had growing up, who knows.  As you can imagine, this sometimes gets dicey – especially with a word like caulk.  

Awhile back, we needed to go get some caulk for our shower and tub.  My father in law was with us and we headed to a local big-box home improvement store.  We were walking around looking at various things and keeping an eye out for caulk.

It wasn’t where I thought it should be (is it ever?).  So we kept walking around.

A young guy comes up and asks if he could help us.

I immediately say, “I need some caulk.”

Except, I can’t say that word correctly.

It comes out wrong.

It sounds like the word that starts with a C and ends with a K and sure as heck doesn’t have the L sound in it.

The boy blinks and says, “Excuse me?”

I repeat, “I need some caulk.”

Of course, it comes out wrong again.

The kid looks at me strangely.  I catch a glimpse of my father-in-law and Don practically rolling on the floor laughing further down the aisle.

I said to the kid, “Caulk.  You know, that stuff you seal up the tub with?”

He replies, “OH!  You mean caulk!”  (Of course, he says it right.)

I hear continued laughing down the aisle.

The kid takes me to the caulk and goes on his way.

On the way home, my father-in-law and Don proceed to give me a speech lesson in the proper way to say caulk… with an L.

As I was telling a friend this story recently, he bust out laughing and said, “Holy crap.  It was probably that kid’s first day at work and here you are asking for caulk and he is thinking you want something else.  You HAVE to share that on the blog.”  

These days, when I say the word caulk, it comes out colk, but at least there is an L in there.  

That poor kid is probably scarred for life.

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Tags: Everyday Life