What We Taught Each Other

Post this one

“What's the worst advice I ever gave you? Log it lovingly, for posterity.”

Built for distance. Answer it apart, wherever you are, and send it — post it, photograph it, read it down the phone. Then it’s the other one’s move.

Why this question

Date, circumstances, and the tremendous confidence with which I delivered it.

And once you’ve both answered

Post it, so I have time to prepare my defence. Your move.

Answering it honestly

  • Answer it on your own, wherever you are, before you see theirs. Distance is the feature here, not the obstacle.
  • Send the actual answer — post the page, photograph it, read it down the phone. Then it's their move.
  • Resist the urge to soften it in transit. The unedited version is the one worth posting.

And the house rule, whatever the mode: leave a blank rather than write a lie. A blank can be filled later; a lie sits in the archive forever, and you both have to live with the paperwork.

More from What We Taught Each Other

“What have you changed your mind about over the years — partly because of me?”

“What has being my friend taught you about being yourself?”

“What is one thing you have learned from me — not the big life lesson, the small, specific one — that you still use or think about?”