I'll never forget the time my little brother Scott got into major trouble. He was down in our basement shooting pool when dad called down and said, "Scott, supper's ready." Scott didn't answer. Again Dad called again. And finally Dad was mad, stood at the top of the stairs and hollered, "Scott, get up here, NOW, supper's ready." That last time got Scott's attention and just as he came up the basement steps, Dad yelled, "Where have you been?!"

Everything would have been OK if Scott hadn't said, "I didn't hear you when you called the first two times."

Communication. It's essential to life. It enables us to get our ideas across. Unfortunately, while sharing those ideas, communication CAN be a roadblock, a stumbling block and sometimes make us feel like a block head.

A wife went to see a la…