Barbecue or Mildew, Dust or Rust: A Lesson in Communication

Barbecue or Mildew, Dust or Rust: A Lesson in Communication

Everyone who knows me knows I love writing. Back in school, I’d get in trouble for scribbling poems instead of paying attention. Friends would pay me to write poems for their significant others—sweet, expressive verses that spoke like a person in love.

But a few years ago, I stopped. I stopped writing poems. I stopped journaling. I stopped expressing myself through words. I didn’t feel like writing anymore.

Until recently…
I found my voice again.

And with that rediscovery came the birth of my company:
In My Mind, I’m Already Retired, LLC.

The Power of Words: What Do You Mean?

In college, my friends and I would hang out in our cozy apartment, lounging on the sofa. Someone would eventually ask, “Are we gonna barbecue or mildew?”
It was our way of saying: Are we going to take action or sit here and let life pass us by?
Barbecue meant movement, creativity, productivity.
Mildew meant stagnation—letting our potential rot.

Years later, while helping the astronomy club clean out a storage unit, I had a conversation with a teammate. He said, “Dust or rust.”
Immediately, I connected it to barbecue or mildew.
Was he asking if we were going to clean and renew—or let things decay?

But I wasn’t sure, so I asked him what he meant.
He replied, “You’re either going to find dust or rust.”
He was speaking literally, using nouns. But I had interpreted it as a metaphor, an action.

That moment reminded me of something powerful:
Words carry layers.
They can be nouns, verbs, metaphors, or memories.
To truly understand someone, we must ask questions, seek clarity, and be open to the answers—even if they’re not what we expected.

Communication isn’t just about speaking—it’s about listening, interpreting, and being willing to ask, “What do you mean?”
It’s about honoring the human experience by making space for understanding.

So I sat with that thought:
Barbecue or mildew. Dust or rust.
Both can be nouns. Both can be verbs.
But most importantly, both are choices—and both require communication.