Light Chatter on a Sunday Night

Some kind of ugly bug has gotten hold of me, the kind that makes your lungs ache. I took some of that nighttime cold medicine; hope it keeps me from drowning in my sleep.

I wanted to share a short conversation I had with a customer yesterday; a chance to prove I know just enough Spanish to almost get by. A fellow called me and asked right off the bat if I spoke Spanish. I told him in my best Tex-Mex, “Poquito”, followed by a question, “So, you lost your keys, your yavez. ( I can barely come up with the words so don’t worry about the spelling.)

“Si, you come and make for my truck?”

“Como se yama de trocka,. . . no, que anyos de trocka?”, having asked what the trucks name was the wrong question as I could hear him laugh at my feeble attempts to communicate. I was able to figure out the he had a fairly new Ford F-150, the kind with the transponder key. We agreed on a price and the more he spoke the more English he showed command of.

“You speak pretty good Spanish, come on and make me a key.”, he blurted out, still having some fun with me.

“My Spanish is poquito.”, trying to let him know that I’d exhausted nearly all my Spanish vocabulary as he gave me the address. I arrived and got to work making the key, waiting the ten minutes necessary for the program to run its course. I handed him one of my magnet business cards, the kind I tell people to place on the refrigerator.

“So, how do you say refrigerator in Spanish?”, I asked as I showed him the magnet.

“Refridgerador.”, he said, again laughing at how easy the translation had been.

“You could have said, “Ice-a Box-a”, laughing at my own mild attempt at humor, “But that would be Italian, wouldn’t it?” We had a good time making fun of our limited communication skills in each other’s language.

Next weekend is General Conference, a chance to hear from the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I offer this as an opportunity to hear about simple truths; things like keeping the commandments, being careful in a world full of temptations, living life with the understanding that we are all children of our Father in Heaven and things like that. If this sounds like something you might be interested in click on the title bar for a link that will explain how to enjoy these sessions via the internet. I've been told that Time Warner cable has decided to air all four of the general sessions on channel 14; that may only apply to the Houston area as far as the channel goes. Should you desire to listen in a foreign language, I promise that those doing the translating will be much better equipped in the many languages offered than I am with my Spanish.