The Violin

The Violin

The violin
transcends,
soars,
reinvents
the emotional
core,
weaving thoughts
to music,
soothes,
heals,
a balm
that recreates
imagination
with simple
strings and complex motion

classroom with a twist

Monologue from My Chinese ESL Class

Class has started, four students sit in various parts of the class, two eating their Uber-delivered Popeye chicken from down the street, while one of the pair is watching a video, the other texting to stay close, quietly whispering in Mandarin.

On either end of the class two other academics write tests they have missed, on work they have not covered, during days they did not attend, about things they have little interest and less understanding. She plays with her hair then fiddles for endless time with her fingers.  I puzzle what she sees there as it fascinates her long term.

The back story has a vending machine technician repairing the soda machine located right in the classroom.  The computer generated voice from within the machine is about the only English I hear in this Chinese ESL classroom as the students prefer their native Mandarin. As she works, the machine responds to various prompts much better than my own students.

 “Make a selection"

“You have not been charged.”

"Please choose the desired product.

"A product has not been selected."

Stripper names

Speech Impediments

We English speakers can’t get our tongues
around the Chinese names
so they rebrand themselves:
Tizzy,
Kiki and Strawberry.
No one told them those are
stripper names.

Buttered Chicken

Buttered Chicken

He looked at the buttered chicken casserole
with vacant eyes.
I was suppose to go before she did.
What am I going to do now?

Today, out shovelling his drive
we faced
I with few words
he with less
looked at each other
"I'm sorry for your loss"
was all I could muster
"I know it sounds trite,
I don't have the words...
If it were me I have no Idea...
"I know, he said, she was my life.

Waterloo Costco

Don’t Go Flat at WATERLOO COSCO

I currently have a love hate relationship with WATERLOO COSTCO.  I certainly love walking the aisles and sampling food.  I can literally fill up on quarter muffin samples the size of a normal mortal muffin, cheeses, various cold cuts, pastas lemon-aid and just about anything else they sell, and they sell most everything.  They have great deals if you don’t mind buying everything in super sizes which could last the average person months or years rather than weeks.

My problem, the hate part, came on December 2, 2018 at 5:15.  It was pouring rain, one of those cats and dogs evenings, cold  too!  We had just finished shopping and drove our car closer to the entrance, loaded everything in the trunk, when we discovered the front driver’s tire was flat.

Fortunately, I was parked right beside the bay door of their automotive center.  I mean if you are going to get a flat tire why not in front of a garage where they fix that sort of thing...right.

Unfortunately, I had to unpack everything and put it in the back seat so I could get at my donought sized spare tire.

Then I got out into the wet, cold blustery night and walked towards the light and warmth of the bright bay doors of the garage.  There was no way in, so I had to go around to the front of the store and get in line, the long line at the automotive counter.

I read a sign which read they were fully booked for snow tire rotation and it was now on a first come first serve basis...foreshadowing?!

Well, yes.  When my turn came.  I stated, “Hi I’m parked in front of one of your bay doors with a flat tire I got while in your parking lot.  Could you please fix that for me?”

“Why sure, would you like to make an appointment for Thursday?”

“I was thinking now, today, as I mentioned I am actually partially blocking one of your bay doors with my car and it has a flat tire.”

“Okay then, maybe Wednesday at the earliest.”

“Listen, normally I would change it myself but I have a heart condition and I really can’t do that sort of thing any more and like I said...”

“Sorry, can’t do it you have to make an appointment.”

I left.

I then phoned the motor league CAA they arrived in 25 minutes and with orange lights flashing changed my tire right in front of the  WATERLOO COSCO automotive center bay door.

I sat dry in my car as the burly CAA guy jacked up the car.  I thought how ironic is this, right it front of the WATERLOO COSTCO garage CAA comes to the rescue.  Irony, that was lost on the COSCO manager when I lodged my complaint about how oblivious and insensitive large corporations are to the little guy...do like their muffins though.