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Did you find eveything alright?

Now I know I am being literal here but c'mon! I get asked this question in the spirit of casual engagement from the grocery store clerk, to the lady helping pick up at the GAP - after errant kids drop all the clothing in the wrong aisles at the retailer (where we are shopping for new school clothing for the kid), to the waitstaff serving me my well done burger (safest bet involving burning the meat till the chef gets bored of looking at it on the grill - avoids the medium rare debate). Did I find everything alright? Lets look at the question in pieces. There seems to be an underlying assumption in all scenarios that I was out to FIND something. In most cases that is untrue since I am merely there to while away my time so finding something is not top of mind. As an example while trotting down a Costco aisle the emphasis is on a walk and some random candy pieces that are being offered as a tease. I was not out to find those but they happened to be there. Same with that burger - how screwed up can a well done burger be - nothing to discover there is there? Then comes the most loaded one- EVERYTHING. I would assume that this noun would be directly proportional to the intellectual capacity of the asker rather than the askee? In most cases it stretches to the waist size of the jeans in that department and nothing beyond that. Lets not go wondering about the name of the robot that landed on MARS for example. But you get the point. Then that last bit about ALRIGHT? Now what is the scope of this word? There are situations outside the GAP that definitely need looking into like - 1. People are dying from bullets in Syria for no reason other than the fact they were born there 2. People are dying of malnutrition in parts of Africa where they have no food 3. Apple fanatics are tired of waiting for their new iphone 4. Many in India and parts of the impoverished world are still looking for a clean toilet and drinking water not necessarily in that order So literally, no I did not find everything alright with the town, the country, the world or intergalactic order. As to whether my meal was properly cooked...that depends on whether the pant that the GAP sold me is too tight and causing the tummy ache or the meat (which I did not think could be bad after being well - done).

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