Nah Duh !!

The first time I recall hearing the sarcastic phrase "nah duh"  was when my first cousin said it to me.  He wasn't making fun  of me but of something some one else said. After that I started hearing it from other people from time to time. And sometimes it was aimed at me.

There's a "nah duh" statement I  have heard many,  many times over the years while watching football. I heard it just the other day. During both college and NFL games the announcer makes a comment which deserves nothing but "nah duh" as a response.  The team is driving and is now inside the opponent's thirty yard line.  And then  he says, "They would rather get a touchdown here than settle for a field goal."  Nah duh!!  Can you think of a situation in any football game regardless of the score or who's got the ball when a coach and a team had rather have a field goal than a touchdown?  Would there be a situation where it would be to a team's advantage to get three points instead of six, seven or eight? Would it be much different if during a major league baseball game the announcer said, "He would much rather hit a home run here than  settle for a single".  Maybe it's just me, but all of  that seems obnoxiously obvious to me.

But my new favorite "nah duh" moment happened last weekend on a trip to Greensburg, Indiana to visit our granddaughter and watch her play basketball.  So you think it's going to be something somebody said about the game. Nope. It's something that happened on the way to  Indiana.  We got to a place on the trip that we needed gas and I needed to use the restroom.  We took  an exit that looked promising. We wanted to find a gas station conveniently located to accomplish both needs. At the top of the ramp we couldn't see a station either direction.  But we were sitting directly across the street from a Costco.  Since we're members we decided just to go  there.  It took a minute to figure out how to get in the parking lot.  When we did, it was a very large lot and a very large store. We made a quick pass around the store and didn't see the pumps. Meanwhile my need was growing in intensity.  So my wife said, "I'll just park here. You go to the restroom and ask somebody where the pumps are so that I don't have to  drive around looking for them."  "Sounds like a plan."  The nice man  at the door didn't know me, but he knew that card in my hand so he invited me in. The restroom was exactly where it is in our Costco so I found it easily.  As I was leaving I found an employee standing near a register.  I asked, "Excuse me, can you tell me where the gas pumps are located?"   And I swear on my grandmother's chicken and dumplins she said, "They're outside." Nah duh !!!. I thought they might be in the meat department or in frozen foods.  Or I guess they're with the tires to keep automotive all together. When I recovered I asked, "Anywhere in particular?"  She said, "Just go out and go to the right and you'll see them at the end of the parking lot."  And I told her thank you and walked out.

I guess I owe an apology to all those football announcers.  I can see how helpful it is to remind the coaches, players and fans that a field goal is as good as a touchdown in some situations. I mean it's not like you can roll over all those extra points to the next game.

We were both about thirteen years old when my cousin said "Nah duh" to  me that first time.  A few weeks ago he was part of a beach house cousin gathering that we participated in.  It was so good to spend that quality time with my Helms cousins and their spouses. And after being around him for several days, this cousin didn't say "nah duh" to me a single time. But I didn't ask for it either.