I had the opportunity, while in the military service, to ride on several European trains. Trains were divided into traveling compartments. The story is told of four passengers riding together in one compartment during the Cold War. On one side sat a Russian soldier and a Solidarity Union member. On the other side of the compartment sat an elderly lady and an attractive young woman in her 20’s.

As the train travelled through the Polish countryside, the four passengers exchanged glances with suspicion, none of them daring to utter a word. Suddenly, the train entered a dark tunnel. In the darkness two unmistakable sounds were heard – first a kiss, then a slap.

As the train emerged from the tunnel and the compartment was again bathed in light, the old woman thought to herself, “Why those scoundrels! One of those men kissed that young girl and got slapped for his rudeness. Good for her!”

Sitting next to her, the attractive young woman thought to herself, “Of all the nerve! One of those men tried to kiss me, kissed the old lady by mistake, and got slapped. Well, he sure got what he deserved!”

The Russian sat with a smirk on his face as he thought to himself, “I knew that Solidarity member could not be trusted. He tried to take advantage of that young woman and she slapped me by mistake!”

Meanwhile, the Solidarity worker just leaned back and smiled. “That’s having the best of both worlds,” he thought to himself. “All I had to do was kiss the back of my hand, and I got to slap that Russian soldier across the face!”

The lesson is clear: you can never read someone else’s mind. Open communication is the only way to know what another is thinking. So ask.

Tags: Cold War, humor, judging