>>I was in a restaurant with a friend and the waiter asked if I wanted more coffee. I said, "I'm fine". He said, "I don't care how you are. You want more coffee?" and he was grinning when he said it. I gave him a very good tip.
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>Family members have developed a nice habit if you start saying something with "Can I just say" of replying "No!" at that point.

By that time, it's already too late. We do it somewhere around the first syllable. Well, not for that particular situation, but for several other repetitive ones. What also repeats, as a part of the rite, is that we do hear it all, once the laughter stops.