Lawyers just trying to get to the kernel

First, you should know that blogger MamaJD and her husband are lawyers with a coupla small kids. In other words, they don’t go out on dates much. But they regularly are the butts of jokes from guys who think it’s funny to ask: “Who wins the arguments in your house?” On Saturday, however, their combined jurisprudence caused a communication problem when MamaJD asked PapaJD to get her a medium coke and “a large extra buttered popcorn.” PapaJD processed his wife’s request but wanted to make sure he had it right: “Do you mean large popcorn with extra butter?” She said yes but wondered if there was a difference between the wording “extra buttered popcorn” and “popcorn with extra butter.” She felt corrected, and according to her blog post, it ate at her. After all, PapaJD was an English major in his undergrad days and a stickler for grammar and word choice. Later, she asked if there was something wrong with the way she described her order. In his defense, PapaJD explained that he wasn’t sure whether the “extra” referred to the quantity of popcorn or butter. Before you start making up jokes re: how many lawyers does it take to order popcorn, however, you should know that PapaJD played it safe. He ordered so much popcorn and extra butter that the JDs had enough to take home to the kids. There was no bullying. Or threats of lawsuits. Just two young lawyers in love with each other and with mincing words.