"He is in violation of the contract."

I found this cryptic statement scratched onto a notepad next to the phone on my desk here at work when I came in Wednesday morning, with no context and no obvious explanation, as my boss was coming in later in the day. What did it mean? Who had violated the contract? Me? If so, what contract had I violated? I was perplexed and a little paranoid, thanks to a large cup of coffee from Toscanini's and little by way of breakfast, and so immediately my wild imagination started whipping up mental scenarios at the end of which I'd be fired, or placed on probation, or worst of all, sent to some kind of remedial seminar reserved for problem employees.

My supervisor laughed when she came in and saw the note. Apparently she'd been talking on the phone to her contractor, who had done a lousy job on the roof of her house, and wrote the sentence to her husband standing next to her during the call. "You didn't think that was about you, did you?"

Of course not!