Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Carlos-isms


First off, I must say, the first thing I liked about Carlos was his accent. I heard him speak before I'd even seen him, so the accent was my first clue. And his accent is odd and wonderful, and somewhat difficult to place. He was born and raised in Mexico so he has that Spanish-type accent, i.e. Vicks Vapor Rub becomes Bick Boppa Rue. But, his paternal grandfather was from England, so Carlos pronounces girlfriend as gullfriend.
I fell in love with that accent. Which is why I can tell these stories:

I'm painting the foyer in the house. It was a wacky shade of red, with blue slate floor tiles, and, well, it always looked a little too Fourth Of July. I mean, I'd burst into You're A Grand Old Flag whenever I went in there. So, I decided to paint it. I removed the furniture and the paintings and cleaned the walls. I looked for some Spackle to fill the nail holes, but alas my Spackle was as dried out as a Kathy Griffin peesh. I mentioned to Carlos that we needed some Spackle so I could fill the holes.
Later that day, as he was bathing the Pocket Dog, Carlos said, When I finish, I'll go to Lowe's and get the potty.
Potty?
The potty you said you wanted.
Potty?
You said we needed potty.
Potty?
For the walls in the foyer.
Oh!......................................................Putty.
That's what I said........Potty.

Over breakfast the next day I was telling Carlos about these two women, and their much younger, obviously gay, male friends, that I'd seen in Smallville. I was saying that a friend of mine had said that when a woman reaches a certain age and dates younger men, she is no longer a cougar, but rather a sabertooth tiger.
Carlos gave me that look that dogs give their owners when you say something odd. Head cocked to one side. Quizzical look in his eyes.
I paused and studied that look.
Cougars, I said.
I know.
Do know what I mean when I say cougars...like the TV show Cougar Town?
You mean the animal, right?

Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucy!

11 comments:

  1. Great story!

    I used to date this guy who was raised in Chihuahua. One winter night, we were walking to a restaurant and he exclaimed, "Aw, I'm so sleepy!"

    "Sleepy?"

    The sidewalks were slippery with ice. He was saying "slippy."

    Luuuuuuuuucy!

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  2. Anonymous2:32 PM

    That's ok. Luckily Keyron has adapted a more northern accent now that he's been up here for almost two decades.

    But being from North Carolina he had phrases which were, um, a bit undecipherable at first.

    Wad of gum would come out sounding like "Wobagun"

    Now we joke about it. He says we should open a Chicken and Waffle House. ChickenWobble.

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  3. LOl! I love accents! And it does take things to a different level at times. Why I do have a soft southern accent, that was never an issue with TH and I. However, growing up in vastly different areas can also cause some confusion....

    When TH and I first got together, I sent him to the grocery store, he hadn't looked at the list before I sent him. He had no idea what cukes (cucumbers), oleo (margarine), or mayo (mayonnaise) was. We had no phone at the time, so he couldn't call and ask, and the store was 1 1/2 hours away.... He was reduced to asking ladies in the store! And the mayo thing? He hadn't ever eaten it, as his parents were stanch Miracle Whip eaters.

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  4. I'm glad you put up the pic of Lucy and Ricky because that is who I think of every time you mention Carlos :-)

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  5. P.S. Hey Bob, I tried to plant a seed a month or so ago when I nominated you to host a blogger's BBQ this summer. Did that seed ever sprout?

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  6. Great memories, thanks for sharing :o)

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  7. Love the Carlos stories and have missed them. Thanks!

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  8. I used to know a girl from Peru who called everyone "sweaty"....

    she meant "sweetie"!

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  9. accent is always so adorable!
    xo

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  10. Some things may be lost in translation, but it is obvious love isn't one of those things. Bring on the Carlos stories!

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