I, too, find I am a very literal person. I take things too seriously, especially when I meet someone new and before I get to know their sense of humor. I manage volunteers, and I recall this one gentleman whom I trained about two years ago. He came back from his first route and made a comment about how tough it was to do the job. I hadn't prepared him well enough he said. Then he left with not another word said. About a week later, he walked in out of the blue, wanting to know why I never called him to work again. I told him I thought it was too difficult and didn't want to push him, trying to spare both our feelings. He burst out laughing and said that he wished all the jobs he had been given in life were that "hard". Now he works for me four or five days a week and still snickers about how I misunderstood him that first time.