A woman described as a nature lover has been annoying coworkers and friends with her usual remark whenever anyone complains about the rain: it is only thanks to the rain that she is able to grow moss on her face.
As it has been a particularly rainy past few weeks, when they arrive in the office, nearly all of Selma Ingovany’s colleagues make a comment, gripe, or joke about the rain, behavior which is normal, say conversation experts.
Nevertheless, Ingovany seems unable to tolerate even the slightest critical remark about the weather, automatically and many would say smugly stating the obvious.
“Yeah, but rain makes the forests green, and farmers need rain to grow food,” she says in a voice that makes her sound like a kindergarten teacher. “Also, without rain, the only thing covering my face would be skin and not this lush, green patch of plant matter.”
Ingovany also frequently recounts the year she spent in Australia, when it was so dry that she could barely get anything to grow on her face, let alone a thick coat of moss.
Friend Chiara Vogle says she’s fed up with Ingovany’s knee-jerk response and the Australia story.
“Yes, we get it,” Vogle says. “She has a beautiful layer of velvety moss on her face, and without daily exposure to rain, it would dry out.”
“But does she really need to remind us of that every single time we say something about the meteorological misery?”
In her defense, Ingovany says she knows that her comment can seem hackneyed and obvious, but she vows to only stop making it when others stop making their usual trite remarks.
“Oh, is it raining?” she said, brushing her face moss with her fingers. “I hadn’t noticed. Is that why the clouds are gray and everything outside is wet?”
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Originally published by RTL Today