Savoring Peculiarity

I will thank Chris for indirectly contributing to this week's title...

A couple of weeks ago, my father called me and opened the conversation with the statement, "I got t-boned yesterday."

I actually did not immediately know what he meant.  Within a few seconds, I realized that he had some sort of an accident, which, while a bit concerning, could not have been too significant considering he was sitting in front of his webcam talking to me.  He went on to explain that he had been broadsided by someone coming out of a gas station on a stretch of road in the neighborhood. 

The incident was minor, all things considered, and I am quite relieved to know that no one was hurt, and he is now the owner of a new car, which he was about to buy anyway.  

A felt a little foolish as I wondered why (or how) I never seem to have added that expression to my vocabulary.  During that conversation, I was just about to ask, "well, did you grill or fry the steaks?" before I realized that he normally would not start a conversation talking about what he ate the day before. 

A couple of days later, I asked a friend if he was familiar with the expression, and it took him a moment before he responded. "Is it some sort of an accident?" 

I looked up the term, and apparently it has been used in this context since the late 1960s.  However, I do not recall anyone ever referring to an automobile accident in such a way.  In Drivers Education, the instructor never said anything like, "Hey, look out when driving through an intersection, lest you get t-boned by another driver." 

So, chalk up another opportunity to learn something new. 

It must have been my lucky week, because a couple of days later, my German boss made a reference to the Großer Wagen, which is known to the American reader as the Big Dipper.  My boss was asking me if we had similar references in English, as he was using the term in a sort of joke.   I felt ridiculous, because I did not have the slightest idea what he talking about.  For starters, I am not so interested in the constellations, and as a result, have not yet learned the German terms.  Sure, I know a little about the Sternbilder, but most of that is from childhood camping trips, when we had the opportunity to look up at the nighttime sky. 

Secondly, in my lifetime I have never heard a joke in any language that involves the constellations.  

The two incidents gave me stuff to think about over the next days.  Random thoughts would come to me, usually while I was showering.  I remembered looking back at the polite charming lady offering a promotion at the grocery store one Thanksgiving and asking, "What is a Turkey Buck?" 

Another day as I rinsed suds from my shoulder, I wondered about that time back in 1980 when all the parents had to explain what freebasing was to their kids, who were curiously asking about it after the recent antics from Richard Pryor.  

Neither Turkey Bucks nor cocaine are interesting to me, but hearing the terms and thinking about the context are.  

Part of the joy of experiencing and learning about other cultures and languages is the opportunity to embarrass oneself, as I did in Spain one evening years ago when asked how my Spanish knowledge was coming.  "Are you learning Spanish in bed?" asked a fellow member of the choir I was in. 

"Why yes, I do read a lot in bed before going to sleep, and now I am reading more and more in Spanish," I earnestly responded, totally missing his reference.  He was asking if I had a girlfriend.  

In Spain, most of the guys used the term "tio" frequently when conversing with each other.  Upon arrival in Germany, I heard "Alter" a lot more.  Both terms became more clear to me once I realized that people were not referring to uncles or ages, but instead, simply saying "dude" or "man."  

Sometimes, I feel inclined to use an American reference, even with the knowledge that my German friends won't have the slightest idea what I am talking about. "Son, your body is writing checks it can't cash," or "they look like two monkeys fucking a football,"  are two movie quotes that almost no German would know.  This is no surprise, since neither movie is particularly well known outside of the US, and furthermore, neither statement translates so well into another language.  

The fact is, I am using the reference for my own amusement.  The timing has to be right, as does the context, and to be honest, there are not that many occasions when that moment presents itself.  

When it does, though, you know what I do?

I savor it. 

And there is nothing peculiar about that.  

happy Easter.  In fact, "thanks Easter Bunny! Bock Bock!"