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One Fast Way to Experience the Power of a Wrong Word
Turns out, that a stupid idea, in any other language, is still stupid. Photo by NOAA on Unsplash I’m on a bus in northern Russia. Our small group consisted of my future mother-in-law, a friend named George, and me. We were headed somewhere in town. My Russian skills then, like now, were nonexistent, but I want to tell my mother-in-law something. I needed to tell her the one thing that all women worldwide appreciate hearing from a man. I want to tell her to calm down because well, she did need to. Or so I thought. I turn to George. “George, what’s the Russian word for “relax?” Because what could go…
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The “R” Question
The Army Reserve, Haircuts, and could you please stop asking me that? Photo by John-Mark Smith on Unsplash I’m sitting in a barbershop in Northwest Arkansas probably 15 years ago when the obligatory barber conversation started: Me: “Just give me a low fade, kinda like a national guard cut.” Barber: “Oh, are you retired?” I frown and stay silent for a minute. Because, well, ‘one of these things is not like the other.’ I don’t know why that was her go-to question. “Are you retired?” All I communicated was the description of the haircut I wanted. And, for the record, I have hair, unlike a lot of people my age. No offense…
