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15890. Ms. No - 7/19/2005 5:22:12 PM toys
toys? 15891. Magoseph - 7/19/2005 5:37:24 PM Sorry for not picking up my toys, Ms. No--by the way, I put some pictures from my son of his "Lake Room" in The Good Life thread. Things at this are moving along nicely. 15892. Ms. No - 7/19/2005 5:45:23 PM Oh goody! I'll go look! 15893. arkymalarky - 7/19/2005 10:56:41 PM I was thinking the same thing about how Southern those lines sounded, before I got down to your posts, MsNo. Good job of showing just how similar they are. 15894. arkymalarky - 7/19/2005 10:59:02 PM I have a Swiss friend whose first language was German, and she didn't start speaking English until she moved to America at 16. I talked to her on the phone a few months ago, and I would never have guessed who she was. She'd completely lost any detectable accent. I was amazed. The last time I'd visited with her, just a few years before, she still had a mild accent. 15895. Magoseph - 7/19/2005 11:14:59 PM Germans are good at leaning languages, Arky, but your friend is obviously very gifted if she can be taken for an American. Most people who learn a language after puberty almost invariably have an accent, although it can be very slight, or rather heavy as it is in my case. 15896. arkymalarky - 7/20/2005 2:15:06 AM That's what I always thought, and it's the way she was for all the years she lived here. She called and had to tell me who she was, and I was still incredulous for a few minutes, thinking maybe another friend was teasing me or something. 15897. Macnas - 7/20/2005 10:14:05 AM Mago
Isn't that interesting? Similar phrase and meaning.
Ms.No
I never thought of the language of the American south being so similar.
Maybe it's due to all those Scots and Irish? Most of the odd word structure is a direct result of the use of Irish/Gaelic language grammar being directly translated and carried through when formulising sentences. For instance, if I were to say "I said" in Irish, it would be "duirt me", with duirt (doo-ert) being 'to say', and "me" (may) being 'I', hence "says I".
I know that in music, particularly some bluegrass and oldtime, I can pick out similar tunes and constructs to our own folk music here.
15898. Ms. No - 7/20/2005 5:34:58 PM Mac,
Yes, the Celtic influence is very strong in the American South particularly in the mountains of Western Carolina and Virginia and over the border into Tennessee. Bluegrass is very much a descendant of Irish and Scottish folk music.
When I was in Scotland my friend drove us up into the Trossachs National Park and I was struck by how much it reminded me of the Blue Ridge mountains. Even much of the drive along Loch Ness near Urquhart Castle made me think of Carolina. It was easy to see why Scottish immigrants would have settled so heavily in the Blue Ridge --- it's very similar terrain although I don't imagine creeks and rivers much compensated for the derth of lochs. 15899. Magoseph - 7/21/2005 5:19:49 PM Hello, everyone!
This morning, I go outside with Butch and going down the stairs, I hear a commotion and a baby bird lands on my head while several robins hover around me, screeching horribly. I freeze when I see the baby bird at my feet and I go back in a hurry in the house dragging Butch by his choker collar. No sooner I recompose myself, a visitor we expect is at the front door rapping on the screen—by the time I come to him, Butch, barking madly through the screen at his little boy, scares the kid so much that he falls backward down the stairs where he lands on his bottom sobbing.
The man and the boy leave with Flexy for the real estate office where a deal is to be signed finally for a piece of land that has been an object of contention between neighbors, each wanting it, but each haggling about the price. A little while later, a car is in the driveway and Butch is barking so fiercely that I have to lock him in the basement while I talk to an angry man who demands to know where Flexy is, saying “I’m the oldest resident and I should be the one who gets the property”. “Are you ready to pay 25% more than you offered”, I say to him. Not saying a word, he gets in his car and while driving away, manages to go over my perennials.
Half an hour later, it is suddenly very dark and a torrential rain comes down hard while the thunder and lightning seem to be overhead and I decide to close the porch windows and who do I see crouched over the broken perennials?--the angry man repairing his deed. Well, since Butch is downstairs, I invite the man in for a cup of coffee and some dry times. Bad idea, the next hour is spent listening to 30 years of grief of this man’s life. Flexy comes back and takes over the man’s saga and I am talking to you about this before I go for a well-deserved nap.
15900. Ms. No - 7/21/2005 7:07:48 PM What an eventful morning, Mags!
It was good of the man to fix the damage to your flowerbed. I know people get frustrated and lash out in anger but I always think more of them when they can be truly contrite about their actions. Sorry you got stuck listening to his laments, though! ;-> 15901. Magoseph - 7/21/2005 8:51:11 PM You know, Ms. No, I never cease to wonder at the fact that I can mind my business and the world comes over and destroys the peace in a few incidents that seem to follow in quick succession.
It always happens when I have made plans for the day after thoughtful reflections. No sooner am I in the middle of a project and making serious progress, the circus starts and when it is over, I am left with a mess I cannot possibly face because I am too exhausted. 15902. Macnas - 7/21/2005 9:03:24 PM You need to refine your curmudgeon technique.
I hate working late. 15903. arkymalarky - 7/21/2005 9:16:40 PM Dadgum, what a morning, Mags! 15904. Ms. No - 7/21/2005 9:36:42 PM Ah, the curmudgeon technique! I need to work on that myself --- actually, of late, I think I may be finally ready to fully commit to my curmudgeonly tendencies.
15905. Magoseph - 7/21/2005 9:39:57 PM That is certaily late, Mac--what happened at your plant that you have to be there?
Arky, I never finished clearing out the unnecessary stuff in the chest drawers I took out this morning. I am in the process of taking out some bedroom chests of the house. There are ten of them, far too many for us. We are going to enlarge the living room, thereby eliminating one of the bedrooms. 15906. arkymalarky - 7/21/2005 10:52:51 PM When you're done that will be really nice, Mags. I like living space. Bob and I switched studies--I'm downstairs and he's upstairs now, and it's nice to change the environment. It just makes everything seem a little better somehow. 15907. arkymalarky - 7/21/2005 10:57:53 PM I may have overdone the curmudgeonly tack, but it certainly does work. I can't remember what it was now, but something they were wanting to ask me to do at work a while back that I never got wind of, and I learned much later from a good friend that no one wanted to be the one to step up and ask.
It doesn't work on Bob and Mose, though. 15908. arkymalarky - 7/21/2005 10:59:19 PM Where's Judith? 15909. judithathome - 7/21/2005 11:21:08 PM I'm here...I've been out most of the day. I'm not in a very good mood because Keoni is working late, YET again.
But I did call the kennel and reserve an extra night for Klaus so it looks like we will leave Thursday around noon.
I can't wait to get out of this city. Today, I went to get my hair cut and what usually takes me a 20 minute drive at most ended up taking almost twice that long. I was amazed at the number of rude drivers with fish on their bumpers, too...they act like letting you move over a lane will cost them their spot in heaven or something.
This town is getting so congested...I feel like I'm living in India. All we need are cows wandering around the roads. I never used to have to wait twice to get through a signal light...traffic is awful.
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