Greg's always got real-life advice for me. 'Smithy's' real name is Greg, btw. It's my third ride in his cab. Every thing's been consistent: he starts his car the moment he sees me appear from the hotel entrance, his back passenger door is still broken which means he has to open the door at the station to let me out, AND he never has any change! This time he says, "Have your children young 25 or so because, you know, you don't wanna be an old pops...well for you. You know what I mean. Older woman. All my kids are grown: I got two who are out of school; one who play basketball in Louisiana, at Southern out there and, uh. Yeah, you know. You look young, so....women sometimes have problems, you know, I'm not saying you will because you look young..."
He pauses to look out the window again. We get to a stop light and he has to stop suddenly to avoid running it. He was looking at a young woman crossing the street.
"...and, uh," he continues. "You look like you're about 23, 24. Right? How old are you?"
"I'm older than 24, Greg."
"Oh, you is? Well, I'm not gonna ask you your age because I'm from the South and I'm a gentleman. Gentleman aren't suppose to ask young ladies, er or grown women there age, you see.
Greg told me he was 45.
"You see I wanted to be a young father."
Yep, Greg, I see. I feel you.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
UNTITLED CAB PROJECT, part 1
For me, a good day or a bad day will depend on what the cab I jump in to in the morning smells like.
Seriously.
If it smells like the cabbie's been smoking, the ride will be jerky and unwavering, making me completely nauseous. But, the good thing is that the guy will usually be on his cellphone for most of the trip so, how much can I really complain.
A strong cologne smell is not just nauseating, but it covers whatever smell was in there before. Take your pick: Curry rice, Golubci and/or something with ham and cream of corn. Then, I end up smelling like the cabbie's cologne and my boyfriend's look is damning: "Really? You were mad at me when I stepped out on you ten years ago in college, when we 'separated'." This cabbie usually wants to talk - to hear himself talk - and asks you questions about political issues in his country that you would never be knowledgeable about even if you knew what the hell Russian broadcasters said or by happenstance typed rt.com into your browser.
It'll feel like the day won't end if the cabbie's rude. The Ethiopian cabbie -an Ethiopian flag was somewhere on the dashboard- wanted to drop me off on the side of the road and pick up another passenger because I only asked for a $7 cab ride and he assumed that the man with a suitcase walking on the sidewalk haling a cab was going to the airport which is a $45 cab ride. Wow. "Really?" I yelled. "No, you can't drop me off and pick him up!" He started driving two miles an hour after that just to make me mad and run up the meter.
[More to come...]
Seriously.
If it smells like the cabbie's been smoking, the ride will be jerky and unwavering, making me completely nauseous. But, the good thing is that the guy will usually be on his cellphone for most of the trip so, how much can I really complain.
A strong cologne smell is not just nauseating, but it covers whatever smell was in there before. Take your pick: Curry rice, Golubci and/or something with ham and cream of corn. Then, I end up smelling like the cabbie's cologne and my boyfriend's look is damning: "Really? You were mad at me when I stepped out on you ten years ago in college, when we 'separated'." This cabbie usually wants to talk - to hear himself talk - and asks you questions about political issues in his country that you would never be knowledgeable about even if you knew what the hell Russian broadcasters said or by happenstance typed rt.com into your browser.
It'll feel like the day won't end if the cabbie's rude. The Ethiopian cabbie -an Ethiopian flag was somewhere on the dashboard- wanted to drop me off on the side of the road and pick up another passenger because I only asked for a $7 cab ride and he assumed that the man with a suitcase walking on the sidewalk haling a cab was going to the airport which is a $45 cab ride. Wow. "Really?" I yelled. "No, you can't drop me off and pick him up!" He started driving two miles an hour after that just to make me mad and run up the meter.
[More to come...]
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Untitled Project
I've decided to write a book in small doses. Partly because it's easier to manage, plus the guarantee that I will actually finish writing it if I write a new part each day. I hope you'll read it as I write it (and hold me accountable). Look for a new portion of it each day.
For now it's called an UNTITLED PROJECT...by the end, I'll call it something else.
Rachael
For now it's called an UNTITLED PROJECT...by the end, I'll call it something else.
Rachael
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Negrito
Racism in football - a friend of mine from the UK disclaims every conversation about soccer by saying "you call it soccer, we call it football" - runs rampid in some Northern European countries. It's at the point where analysts and race specialists, are beginning to interpret words, hucked at by racist football fans on to some of the worlds greatest players, as merely 'terms of endearment'.
Oh, that's what you call it.
Negrito - which is translated to mean 'little black man' - in Latin American countries was described as a term of endearment by Mark Sawyer, the director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics at the University of California Los Angeles. He also said that it is about the context and translation of the word. But, if it's OK for Mark Sawyer to say that it's a term of endearment and he is a black guy - and it begins to happen more often that black commentators are comfortable with professing that slightly racist words are endearing - you have to understand that you may be speaking for yourself. We can't always write things off and have a numb reaction.
Today, 'Negrito' to most Americans would be like calling a black person a Negro. Here in America - the USA- I believe that people of Latin American descent would understand that they could not call a black person a 'Negrito' because it is not tolerated. It would be the equivalent of being called "boy" back in the 1880s, and even today (if conjured from an understanding that its meaning has an entendre). "Boy" is a term of endearment if a white guy calls a younger white guy 'boy'; When black guys say, "this is my 'boy'" that's OK; BUT if it comes from a white man to a black man, I doubt it would be OK.
Even though these games are not played in America and if the term is understood as being endearing...the people your saying it to might not have come from a Latin American country to understand that it IS a term of endearment. There might be a few African players who don't, you know, like the term. And some Latin American countries do not interpret 'Negrito' as being endearing. So world, let's be a little PC.
On a side, random note.... Where does this perpetual 'hate' -- My father (who grew up in Oklahoma during the 1950s-1960s) always corrects me by saying "hate is a strong word, Rachael, you dislike something" -- come from? I wish the penalty for using these words would require the person to explain why he/or she used the word in the first place. My guess is that the response would be absolutely stupid.
What do you think?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/sport/soccer-word-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Oh, that's what you call it.
Negrito - which is translated to mean 'little black man' - in Latin American countries was described as a term of endearment by Mark Sawyer, the director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics at the University of California Los Angeles. He also said that it is about the context and translation of the word. But, if it's OK for Mark Sawyer to say that it's a term of endearment and he is a black guy - and it begins to happen more often that black commentators are comfortable with professing that slightly racist words are endearing - you have to understand that you may be speaking for yourself. We can't always write things off and have a numb reaction.
Today, 'Negrito' to most Americans would be like calling a black person a Negro. Here in America - the USA- I believe that people of Latin American descent would understand that they could not call a black person a 'Negrito' because it is not tolerated. It would be the equivalent of being called "boy" back in the 1880s, and even today (if conjured from an understanding that its meaning has an entendre). "Boy" is a term of endearment if a white guy calls a younger white guy 'boy'; When black guys say, "this is my 'boy'" that's OK; BUT if it comes from a white man to a black man, I doubt it would be OK.
Even though these games are not played in America and if the term is understood as being endearing...the people your saying it to might not have come from a Latin American country to understand that it IS a term of endearment. There might be a few African players who don't, you know, like the term. And some Latin American countries do not interpret 'Negrito' as being endearing. So world, let's be a little PC.
On a side, random note.... Where does this perpetual 'hate' -- My father (who grew up in Oklahoma during the 1950s-1960s) always corrects me by saying "hate is a strong word, Rachael, you dislike something" -- come from? I wish the penalty for using these words would require the person to explain why he/or she used the word in the first place. My guess is that the response would be absolutely stupid.
What do you think?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/sport/soccer-word-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Monday, November 7, 2011
Verdict Reached
The jury has reached a verdict in the negligent homicide (involuntary manslaughter) case of Dr. Conrad Murray.
Dr. Murray is accused of negligent homicide in the death of pop icon Michael Jackson. With only ten hours of deliberation, the verdict is expected to be announced in minutes.
What do you think the outcome will be?
Dr. Murray is accused of negligent homicide in the death of pop icon Michael Jackson. With only ten hours of deliberation, the verdict is expected to be announced in minutes.
What do you think the outcome will be?
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)