Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for February 12, 2013

Lake Woebegone in Spring !

Paddle faster, Melvin! The ice is thickening as we speak!

Wow Bev…. you’re up late…..

Though you probably went to bed just before I got here…everybody always does…. sigh….

Nice to see you, Six, if you’re still here….

I’m on my way to the Tiki to check on the night shift….Stop by, if you have time, and I’ll buy you a drink….

Kinda my turn tonight.

Hey Red…. welcome back!

I was just telling Six I think it’s MY turn to buy!

I took a lot of French in school, and for some reason it has stayed with me…though it’s “school” French and not so much the vernacular…and by now, it’s dated, I’m sure.

I’ve picked up some Spanish in Mexico and from co-workers and neighbors,and that’s just the opposite.

I can gets something across but perhaps not properly.

Great…..

Fenton, the usual Glenfiddich please, for Red and for myself….Make his a double, but not mine.

Thanks so much. You were born to be a bartender, I think.

My problem with both of those languages is that I can say more than I can understand.

I’ve never understood why people say things like “My parents spoke German so I can understand it, but I can’t speak it.”

If you know the words, and what they mean…. just say them!

But while I know how to say certain things, there are a zillion other ways to say them or to answer…. and especially as native speakers slur the phrases, I have to remind people to talk to me as though I’m five.

Cheers, Red!

So you were off today…. that must have felt good!

I’m thinkin’ Melvin up there is taking an awfully zig-zaggy path for someone in a hurry to get to shore.

Maybe the ice is stronger in some spots… but I dunno, I’d be pretty desperate.

Of course, it’s more artistic this way…. maybe Jerry wants an aesthetically pleasing strip even if it scares his characters a little.

He’s lucky he doesn’t have any that threaten him, like Pearls characters threaten Stephan.

I’ve tried to remind Rat about who holds the eraser… but he doesn’t read the comments.

I’m actually not home tonight… well, I mean….I’m on Ballard Street, so of course not…..

But …. gosh, this sort of thing is confusing….

I’m also at my (very ex) mother-in-law’s house, using her ancient computer…The chair and the keyboard are both exceedingly uncomfortable, so I may have to call it a night soon.

I’ll be here tomorrow too, and tomorrow night.I never know how much time I’ll have to myself…. but at least the computer’s working, and the internet connection.

Sounds ambitious.

LOL… I meant the bookcase….but I guess it applies to the rooster too!

If I believed in the “roosters crow at dawn” theory, I’d say maybe he wants an early start to his day…

Hmmmm… roosters crow… but crows don’t.

And no, they don’t “rooster”.I guess they DO “roost.”

And now I’m thinking so do roosters… or they probably wouldn’t be called that.

Does all that prove I’m tired?

Wow… I love walls of shelves.My friends used to tease me cos when I saw an empty space I put shelves there….

I am…. sigh… NOT a minimalist.

Stuff I got, Red….. stuff I got.

……Sigh… more stuff than places.I have a couple of friends who live in almost bare spaces with everything in neutral colors….

I don’t know what to do with myself in places like that.

Oh…. excuse me for putting it in the middle of this conversation, Red…

but I didn’t get to the computer before the turn…

and I meant to apologise to x_Tech….

X — I’m sorry I forgot to thank you, for bravely re-posting your extraneous comment…just to make MY comment about it correct.

And to think that they say chivalry is dead.

Does your drink need freshening, Red?

Fenton…. another Scotch for Red, please….and I guess I’ll have a quick one too.

Ask him if he wants another double, please, when you pour it….

And just put them on my tab, OK?I’ll be straightening it out anyway, when I see the Monkey.

Speaking of straightening…. I don’t know whether I’ve ever seen another bow tie that stays so straight.

Red, my sister and I sometimes talk about the same thing.

We were brought up SO polite…. and I don’t think it’s just my age…there are so many people born at the same time as us who’ve adopted the modern fashion of rudeness.

A couple of years ago someone gave me a small birthday party…. very sweet of her.

I sent her a thank you note, and sent them to three or four people who gave me small gifts.

I mean, none of the stuff was valuable…. I’d say mostly $5 or so…. but I thought it was so nice of them.

I think every one of them either teased me or complained because I sent snail-mail notes.One even said I was trying to show them up!

Yeah… it was a group I’ve since quit.

Anyway… you’re very welcome, for the drinks…but I’ve gotta get out of this chair….

So Cheers! A la votre…..L’Chaim….and all that.

And off into the night I go….

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!!!

If he just waited five minutes, he could have walked home.

He is recreating George Washington crossing the Delaware. He is the guy in the front.George said it was too cold to show up. The other recreators are in the Tiki getting hot totties to warm up.

I took French in HS, but saw that our teacher spoke it poorly so never really learned it. I took 2 semesters of Latin in a Catholic College and was chosen to read the Christmas gospel at assembly. I later was self-taught in Spanish before I married my (crazy) Cuban X.

This room has mostly bright red walls with a pattern I painted of flying birds (like an Escher) in opal and copper. The one white wall (that continues into my white kitchen) has a red velvet drape/swag over the patio doors and side windows.

I’m glad not to be in New Orleans today or on that ill-fated cruise (any idea why people still use those cruise ships?)

I have an Esperanto textbook around somewhere. I a friend and I had the idea of learning it but it sounds a little too much like Pig Latin.

HAY..!!!!!!

The French spoke in Louisiana is a broken dialect. Given they lived isolated from the ancestral home land the language changed. What Linquist spoke (wrote, eh!) is closer to the original. I took years of French his is quite good. When in Nam I could communicate many times with the older Vietnamese as their second language was French. The accent and emphasis was a little difficult to grab but we could establish communication. Now Red is the Cajun style from LA. You speak that to a Frenchman and he will go WHAT?Its like the languages in Mexico. The folks along the border speak it differently than those from the interior. I know. I can speak it some. One time was speaking it and the gentleman asked me to stop as my so called “Spanish” was irritating to him. We reached ground when he realized I had learned the Border Spanish not the Spain Spanish.

I prefer this indoor one by ourselves.

I hope I’m not being considered the rude one. My family discuss things like that and my (now deleted) comment is something that I would normally discuss mostly with the dr, but also even with some of my kids. I love talking with all the folks here, but mostly WITH the understanding of anonimity. I don’t think I could face many of you, and I know he would be embarrassed if he knew things I’ve told about him. Here is a photo from around the time we first met.

Thanks! I’ve been watching more TV (Hotel Impossible is the latest) and as I see more and more of businesses that require changes, it reminds me of another of the things I admire about my man. He always has the best interest of the customer at heart (even tho’ a good business needs to make money). The money follows when you do a good job.

I’ve never owned a business, but I DID the best job in everything where I worked (which always added to my skills). Companies were generally sad when I moved on because at the least I had learned every skill that any position required and in many cases I had made major changes in procedures. One early job I wound up doing time studies for pricing and even designed a machine to eliminate a boring procedure. One of the last ones I was self taught in CAD menu and revamped the whole company system. Pride in accomplishment is just one of the many things we share.

Even tho’ I may more often think about our escapades and other salacious activities, those are not the only reason that I have loved him all these years.

DAZZ, You lady are a piece of work, and I mean that in the MOST COMPLIMENTARY WAY POSSIBLE! You rock!

I just turned 59 and I wish I had your “get go and get it done” attitude! You are an inspration to us lady folks! :-D

Thanks, Dry! I was just reminiscing in my mind with Downton Abbey paused for around an hour. I have many memories in all these 75 years.

I agree Dry. I wish I had that energy.

DAZZ, I can only hope to be like you, if and when I get that far! :-D The 70s is the new 40’s or 50’s. I have a couple of other Senior Friends (yeah I know! I am NOW officially a Senior too! DANG NAB IT!), who are very much like you! :-D

Clara tells a story:

https://cleoandcompany.net/february-12-2023/

Good morning Balladeers and Tigressy.