Making Friends

I've found a good way to make the TSA people at the airport smile and be friendly.

My wife spent a couple summers teaching intensive language courses at a university out east. For the 9 (?) week program, students are required to speak ONLY their target language, and have to sign a written agreement stating such. An interesting by-product of this process is the t-shirts that they create - some are for the overall program (for all of the languages), and some are specific to the language and level. I have one shirt from first year Japanese that has written on the back in Japanese "I only speak Japanese". Then beneath that in English, "If you can't read this, then you're probably not supposed to talk to us..." The shirt is somewhat bright green, and despite it being a gift from my wife, she is very adamantly opposed to me wearing it in public. Especially when we're in an area where there might be some native Japanese speakers.

So, back to making the TSA folks smile. When I flew home to Illinois yesterday I was wearing a t-shirt that says "No English Spoken Here" on the front, then on the back "But we do speak:" with all of the languages taught at the school written in the native characters beneath. The security checkpoint I went through yesterday just happens to be the same checkpoint for international departures. Two of the TSA officers smiled when they saw my shirt and asked "what does your shirt say?" (as if trying to test if I speak English). I responded and explained where the shirt was from, they explained how they thought it was humorous because many of the people they encounter day-to-day truly cannot speak English.

Next time I fly I think I'll wear that t-shirt. When the TSA officers ask what my shirt says, I'll look very confused and give them my best broken English while pointing to my shirt - "No speeku ingureshu!".

Thin Air

"Thin Air" - it's the title of one of my favorite Don Ross tunes (the favorite?). I got the sheet music for my birthday last year, and one of my guitars has been in this tuning for probably half a year or so while I've struggled with learning this song (probably doesn't help that I play for maybe a total of one hour during an average week).

Anyway, the difficult part of learning a Don Ross, Andy McKee, or Antoine Dufour tune is getting "in the groove". As you may have noticed, there's a very percussive/rhythmic feel to most of the music these guys make. Getting both hands (especially your right thumb) to cooperate can be difficult. Tonight I felt like I was maybe finally really starting to get "in the groove" for "Thin Air". Am I ready to post my rendition on Youtube? No not yet. For now, here's Don playing it: "Thin Air".

Morphin'

My wife has been here with me in Illinois for the past couple weeks, and she'll be here for another week. I came home one day last week to find a multi-color throw over my couch (instead of the typical plain navy blue sheet I use as a sofa cover). Last night she came home from a shopping trip with a bright orange/peach tablecloth that immediately found its way on my usually naked dining room table.

She'll be moving in permanently in July. This is how it happens, isn't it? One small thing at a time, then one day you find yourself waking up in a bed with pink, flowery, frilly sheets...