What Was That You Said?

Two posts in the same day.  Must be a record.

I want to go on record that I have a foreign language disability.    Somehow I was able to avoid taking a foreign language in both high school and college.    Actually I agreed to take Russian during my High School study hall period, but not enough students signed up, so it wasn't meant to be.

So why the talk about foreign languages.  Because I went South and the further South you go the less you understand.   It's a little like entering a foreign country.   I can generally act as interpreter for my Northern Hubby but at times even I was lost.

We were doing a little grocery shopping in Dale Hollow.  The conversation between me and the sales folks..
               Her:   "Can ah hep yew faaan sumthin?"
               Me:  "No,  am jus' waitin' for my husband." (I find it helps to try and blend in)
               Her:  "Oh, he's done lef' yew.
 I thought about protesting but then realized this was her idea of a joke so I appropriately chuckled.
             
Hubby has perfected the southern version of Thank You....Thiank yew!  (I've no idea how to spell this out, but if you have ever been South you know what I mean.)  It comes in handy and we use it a lot.

Sometimes we just looked at each other and said, did you get that?  Even my Elder Brother, who is still living in Kentucky, was baffled at times.   We just shrugged it off.

Getting directions from someone was always an adventure.  No one uses a street name or number.

             Hubby:  "Can you tell us where we can find a grocery store?"
             Him:  "Yer not from around here, are yew?"
             Us:  Unspoken: How'd you guess?
             Him:  "Yew go up there and take a raht.  Take the first left.  Then yew go down the hill.  At the
                        bottom of the hill look to yer raht and yew should see a restaurant and the grocery will
                        be on yer left."
             Me:  "Thiank yew!"

So we followed the directions and found the grocery.  But it would have been a lot simpler to say...go back out to the 111 (the main thoroughfare), turn left and you'll see it about a quarter a mile down on your left.

We rented a pontoon boat for a day out on Dale Hollow Lake.  Before going out we had to receive an overview of the boat.   I was prepared to hear about the operation of the boat, where we could/could not go, who had the right of way if you met up with another boat.  That kind of thing.  The first thing he told us?  "You have five chairs."

Yes, indeedy.  We did have five chairs and unless someone decided to throw one into the lake, we were going to have five chairs when we returned.  At this point, I decided there wasn't much of value in listening real hard.

But lest you think I dislike the Southern language, let me set you straight.  I thoroughly enjoy it.  It sounds a little musical I think.  Makes me feel at home even though I never spoke this particular dialect.

Plus, I like saying Thiank yew!