Out Of The Mouths' Of Babes
Today, Hector, the guy who does blood pressure tests was set up on the sidewalk in front of the department store, as he normally is about three days a week. So, I stopped for my weekly BP check. I should mention Hector is a med school student, and this is the way he fills the med school's community service requirement. I should also mention that he and I have a 'history'.
When I was still 'new' down here, after several stops at Hector's stand, I figured out that he was kind of a character, just from watching him interact with people on the street. So I started kidding him. "You are really a vet student, not a med student, right?", or "You are just here on the corner so you can watch the street vendors and learn a real trade, right?" - that sort of thing.
It took Hector about two or three encounters with me before he figured out the gringo sense of humor. The next time I set down, he was ready. When it came time to read out my numbers, he just gasped, which caught me off guard - much to his delight. Since then before he tells me my numbers, I normally get, , "You haven't been taking your meds?", or "You need to see your doctor.", or, once even, "I need to call an ambulance."
Meanwhile, back to today. Just as I sat down in his chair, a woman walked up to be 'next', with a little girl who was probably her grand daughter. The little girl was precious, a real heart steal-er. Amazingly pretty, with the big eyes, and a smile that lit up the whole block, the little darlin' immediately started bending my ear. So, I couldn't resist, when Hector started blowing up the BP cuff, every time he squeezed the bulb and the cuff hiss-ed, I went 'ouch'!
Everyone thought that was funny. But, after my third 'ouch', the little girl started to look apprehensive, so I decided I better call this off. I explained to her I was just joking. She looked at her grandmother who expanded on that, and then she looked at Hector who confirmed it. Crises averted!
A couple minutes later, as I got up to leave, I told the mini-princess again that I was just kidding. The little angel turned to her grandmother and said, "Yo piensa posiblemente el viejo fuerte nada." What the little ¿$%&#@!* said was, 'I thought possibly the old man was not strong.'
Ha! Don't you love it?
A Tribute To Our Troops On The 4th
A 4th of July video tribute to our servicemen. Click on the link below.
Where is Ann Landers When You Need Her?
- I do not know whether there is a Latino version of 'Miss Manners' or not. But, I have a protocols question. At least a dozen people in this funeral procession are carrying on conversations on their cell phones as they 'mourn' down the street. Somehow it just doesn't seem right to me. I grew up in an era when kids stopped playing and showed respect when a funeral procession passed by the playground. Is it just me?
- I know this one is me. It took me almost two years down here to finally realize that I am doing the wrong thing with my dinner napkin. In the few restaurants that I frequent where they use cloth napkins (paper napkins do not count in this discussion), the silverware place setting is wrapped in the napkin. Panamanians remove the silverware, and then fold the napkin and use it like a coaster for the silverware to lay in.
I just realized the other day that I get strange looks when I unfurl my napkin and place it in my laps. People were looking at me like 'What is he doing in his lap right here in the restaurant'? Yikes!
The Strange Times We Live In!
Several French Quarter landmark restaurants have closed their doors and moved to a new 'hot' area of town called, what translates to, West Lake. This French Quarter evacuation started when renowned chef and cooking show host Bobby Chinn shuttered up his famous Maverick Bistro.
Chinn is very straightforward that is decision to move was triggered when his rent in the French Quarter location was tripled in increments over a year to $45,000 per month.
The strange part of the story? The French Quarter area in question is in Hanoi.
No Wonder I Am Confused
These four signs are all in the same block around the town square, and they all have to do with parking (parking = estacione).
Estacionamiento
Exclusivo
Para Clientes
Prohibido
Estacionarse
En Area
Solo Para Taxis
No Estacione
Absolutemente
No Estaciones
Ok, as long as you know estacione is parking, you don't have to be fluent in Spanish to figure out these signs. But, how many iterations of estacione are there? Jesus, I'm getting a headache!
Till Next Time. Pura Vida!
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