Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Things Are Different Here (part III)

A while back I told you about Manus' uncle Ger coming from England for a weekend visit. Before he left, he gave Katie a few books for her birthday. One of them is a collection of stories that seem to have included many of the classics like Little Jack Horner, Yankee Doodle, Roses are Red...

Then there was this one.




And I thought to myself... Boy. Things are really different here.
And its not only that word that is totally socially acceptable here. It is customary, in fact perhaps even compulsory to incorporate the F-word into every statement. Form doesn't matter; it can be used as an exclamation, verb, noun or adjective. Apparently you get bonus points for multiple uses in a single sentence. Get Manus and his brother talking about the hurling team and you will hear some permutation of "That F-all so-in-so couldn't hit the F-en ball with 2 F-en hurls so he can just F-off for F's sake" every time.

Cunt.

Cunt is not a bad word here. I don't even like typing the word, though by Irish ordinances I am well within my legal right to do so. I believe it is still a slightly derogatory term, but for example, if you were addressed as "ya stupid 'C', ya" for a minor driving faux pas, you shouldn't be offended.

Now, oddly enough, the word "fanny" as in the children's story "My Sister Fanny" as read aloud by Billy Madison in 1995, is very vulgar. You would make old women blush if they heard you say it on the street.

Like I said, things are different here..... Or so I thought...

My cousin Elissa gave me this book before we left called "Games to Play with Baby".


I don't think "listening skills" are all baby will learn if I teach her how to ride...

We need a little inspiration from Whitney at a time like this. She knows how to teach our children and let them lead the way. Is she out of rehab yet?

P.S. I passed my driver theory test. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

2 comments:

xandra said...

Are those pictures and quotes at the bottom of your blog yours.
I have to tell you that you are hilarious. Thanks for the glimpse into your world. We miss you.

Unknown said...

C**t is a wonderful, powerful word. I use it to decorate my language on a daily basis!!