"What, me worry?" & "What's going on with them?"

What, me worry? is the famous response of Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine. In general, you probably ought to worry.

What's going on with them? is often my response when I get curious emails or when students or colleagues seem to misread my intentions. It does not matter what's going on with them. What matter is how I respond and how I adapt to their misreadings. Can I respond to lower the temperature? Can I adapt to their needs, so that they read me correctly?

I know how to handle both of these, most parents have. But in fact lots of life is more like parenting than dealing with mature adults.