 |
| Question Mark (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Question you are always asked...
Probably the question that I'm asked most is, "Are you hungry?"
Most often it's asked by my wife. In some cases it's me asking her. Much of life seems to revolve around eating so I guess it's a normal question for people to ask each other. Whenever there is a family gathering or if for some reason someone comes by to set a spell, invariably the hungry question will arise. It's probably a matter of consideration, but I think most often it's because the person asking the question is getting hungry. After all we all have to eat sometimes.
Then there's something like, "How are you doing?"
For over twenty years there has been a small market that I sometimes stop by. Years ago it was for cigarettes, but then I stopped smoking. Now occasionally I'll just pop in to pick up a lottery ticket. The store is run by an older Indian couple. They've been there for years, hardly being shut down most of that time. Their son used to be in the store at times, but I guess he finally graduated from college and now it's just the couple, sometimes just one of them and sometimes both, day after day from nine in the morning until maybe ten or so at night.
The reason I bring them up is that many years ago when I'd stop by to pick up my cigarettes the the father and husband would always greet me with "How you been?" pronouncing been as "bean". He'd say it in his Indian accent but it always sounded kind of street lingo like. He sounded kind of cool. He stopped saying that years ago. Now I always call the store "How You Bean" when I'm with my wife. She used to think it was funny when I called the store "How You Bean" but now that's just like the name we call the store.
Both the husband and wife greet me quietly now when I come in or maybe they don't say anything at all except nod and acknowledge me with some nonchalant facial expression. They work long hours and have been there so many years apparently resigned to the life they have. It's not bad I suppose, it's just a life. A question I might ask them is "When are you going to retire?" Which brings me to a question that I've been frequently asked of late: "How's retirement?" This is because I retired in the past couple years and I guess some people wonder how I'm doing with it.
Retirement has been okay. But that's another story and I won't bother going into that right now.
Is there a question that you are asked frequently? Do you answer in detail and with honesty when someone asks how you are? Would you like to be the owner of a small store where you had to be there all or most of the time?
I used to always get asked why I didn't have a Bostonian accent, being from here. I didn't grow up with one. When I first started talking to my now husband on the phone, I had a really hard time understanding him. He has a very thick accent. But now I actually catch him pronouncing his Rs like I always have. I think I never had one b/c my parents, aunt & uncle....and extended family....were from Yonkers, NY. I grew up hearing them talk moreso than people that were from here so I never developed it. Now, after living on the west coast for so long, I have this really weird Canadian/midwestern/Californian hybrid accent.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, maybe it's partly the moving around. I don't really have a definable accent either, but I think it's because I've moved around so much.
DeleteLee
I don't share how I like retirement. It sounds like complaining. After all I have a pension which many do not get.
ReplyDeleteBut, I hate it. Friends of my dad told me to not retire. I see why. But these folks I care for benefit.
Ann, I've told me teacher wife that she should work as long as she is able and the district will allow. I think she might get bored with it or just basically do nothing and kind of atrophy. I think money will be tighter than ever when she retires so she won't have the financial flexibility that she has now. I'd still be working if my company branch hadn't shut down.
DeleteIt's not easy getting by on just social security.
Lee
We had a small sandwich shop in the basement of the building I worked in a few years ago that was run by a nice Chinese or Korean woman who would hand you your order and say "tanks a lot." Pretty soon we all called the shop the Tanks-A-Lot, as in "What are you doing for lunch?" "I'm going to Tanks-A-Lot."
ReplyDeleteJohn, glad to know I'm not the only one who has used such nicknames.
DeleteLee
"What is your f'n problem?"
ReplyDeleteCW, so, what is the answer?
DeleteLee
Stay tuned. Just getting ready to write the post...
DeleteI hear "How ya doin'?" a lot -- And my usual answer is, "Doin' great, how bout you?"
ReplyDeleteSince beginning to follow you during the #Challenge, I am behind in reading your posts. Trying to visit as many others sites as possible. Looking forward to catching up soon. Enjoying what I am able to read. Thanks. Visiting on the letter R day where I have written about a hotel in Italy that I used in a second novel. Wish I were writing you from there rather than North Carolina. Having fun, however. Cheers.
ReplyDelete