Can we talk?

I have been observing the rapidly growing number Spanish-only speaking  residents there are living in the area, and I have noticed how many English-only  speaking residents there are that are reluctant to learn how to speak Spanish.  There is a lot of hostility on the part of the non-Spanish citizens, and I often  hear remarks like “If they are coming to this country then they need to learn  English.” I also hear a lot of anger about how our tax dollars are being wasted  on illegal immigrant families. I’m not sure that is really happening, but the  general perception is that it is happening.

I am trying to understand both sides of the issue, and I just want to say  that I think it is important that we ALL learn to speak BOTH English and  Spanish.  Eventually we are all going to need to know both languages in order to  get along in every day life here in America.  And I think it is important that  we all get along!

Missing the Sunday paper

We subscribe to the Sunday paper so we can get coupons and the television guide.  That is essentially the only reason we subscribe to it.  Every Sunday morning I walk down to the newspaper box, dragging the trash can behind me (trash pickup is early Monday morning) and leave the trashcan at the end of the driveway and then bring the newspaper back up to the house.  It’s not something I enjoy doing, but it needs to be done and my wife has asked me to make that part of my routine.  So I do it to make her happy.

It is very aggravating when I get down to the newspaper box to find that the Sunday paper is missing.  I don’t know if someone swiped it or if the delivery person didn’t deliver it; I just know that it isn’t there.  No coupons, no television guide.  I know that I can call the paper and complain and they will give me credit for the missing paper, but that still leaves us without the coupons and television guide, and the inconvenience of having to run to the store to pick up a copy if we really want it that badly.

Newest Bad Word

There have always been a handful of words and phrases that become popular and get overused each year, especially by the younger people. Some of the words I hear way too much include, “Are you serious?” and “I don’t know, right?” which drive me crazy.

So, with all of the tragedy in Japan and the still unresolved threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan, the newest bad word that I’ve heard used a lot these past couple of days is “radioactive.” It is an adjective used to describe someone or something as extrememely bad.

Sometimes it is hard to be gracious

My wife is always telling me that there is never an excuse to be rude, and that we need should be gracious at all times.  That is a challenging thing to do!  For example, my brother sent our kids Christmas gifts that were obvious regifts and/or free things that he had gotten in the past.  Like those free Gevalia coffee cups that you get just for trying Gevalia coffee.  Or a used book.  This guy has more money than he could ever dream of spending and he gifts things like that as gifts to family?  It is really hard to be gracious when you get gifts like that.   They say that it’s the thought that counts, and I’m thinking that he’s thinking of ways to be cheap.  And that’s not a good feeling.

Durn dog

One of the bigger annoyances in my life is one of my dogs, who seems to enjoy cavorting around the neighborhood every chance she gets. We HAVE a fenced in yard she is supposed to stay in, but every now and then someone accidentally (I hope accidentally) leaves the gate open and she is off like a rocket.

Usually she comes home in an hour or two, no harm done. But the last time she took off she was gone for three days. We were sure she was gone forever. Naturally we were thrilled when she was found five miles from home and the person who found us called (thank goodness for dog tags!) and we were able to go get her. She was tired, and glad to get home, but I don’t think that her wandering days are over quite yet.