Mis-hearing is an Art

       A friend and relation who is a psychological therapist has a message on his home cell phone.  His voice asks patients to call his office phone number, but that isn't the way I heard it when I first tried to reach him.  This is the way the message started to my ears:


              "If you're QUIET (some emphasis), call the office phone at . . . "


This took me aback, and I almost hung up, figuring, yes, I can be quiet enough to leave my message, but then thought again, let it go on and realized I could leave my personal message here.  I did.

       And then I re-called this same number just to check the actual word; it wasn't "quiet," it was "a client."