REACHER SAID NOTHING...

I've been meaning to write some things that I've learned since reading the Reacher novels...but there are so many things, I thought it best to start with one.  "Reacher said nothing" is constantly repeated throughout the entire series.  When you stop to think about it or look at how it is being referenced, it becomes a pretty good piece of advice.  A piece of advice I could have used about ten years ago when I was being interrogated by Internal Affairs while employed with the Sheriff's Department.  My interview went something like this:

IA:  "Do you know why you're here?"

S:    "I think so."

IA:  "Want to tell us about it?"

S:    They must know so I guess I'll just talk.  "It has to do with the falsification of time cards by the..."

IA:  "Time Card fraud?  When did this happen?"

S:    Oopsie...that's not what this is about?  "Ughhh.  It's been going on for about a year..."

Do you really want to know how it ended?  I had been reporting time card violations and working with the Department of Labor for close to a year before my interview with Internal Affairs.  It was only a matter of time before they got involved.  So naturally, when they started with such a vague opening I jumped right in with my two cents worth.  Their real interest: sexually explicit e-mails that the supervisors had been sending back and forth.  If only someone had told me about the Reacher novels before then...

Wikipedia says the following:   Reacher's demeanor is stoic and he does not talk much.  Reacher frequently does not answer when people make statements or ask questions, nodding or shrugging preferring the other party to fill the silence. A recurring line in the novels is "Reacher said nothing."

So in the future when we are being pushed for information by employees, friends, family, and others, we should remember to insert our name in the following sentence: "Sabrina, Kate, Richard, Leah, Jacque, etc said nothing" -and follow that advice. Always let others fill the silence. If it works for Reacher; it will work for us, too.