) Biking and conversing with Sam(7)
I pedaled that day in 2013 with Sam, a.k.a. Compact Competence Incarnate, dressed
in a hooded sweatshirt with a Melsterescque(*) slogan on the back:
‘Failure to Prepare is Preparing to Fail’
Undaunted Sam glides
movements thrifty
confident, astride
agile, nifty
Confident, cheerful & nimble
legs strong while look salami
pushing ahead like a thimble
centered like a swami
Brave heart pumping
pedaling, mind calm
twisting, jumping
with superb aplomb
Eyes empathetic
gaze magnetic
body athletic
glide kinetic
Engaged as well linguistic
Japanese for ordering ease
detachment of the mystic
while making sure its ‘melted cheese’
*
At lunch break, we spoke about his Japanese studies and the mystery of why
humans speak different languages. While chomping on his melted cheese
(indeed!) sandwich Sam discoursed flawlessly on the communicative
differences between humans and dogs, viz.:
“Humans who speak Japanese and English sound differently. If one speaks
only Japanese and the other English only they shall not understand each
other. However, if they both speak a common language they shall sound
the same (more or less) and they shall understand each other.
Japanese and American dogs bark the same. A Japanese dog understands a
Japanese dog. An American dog understands an American dog. However even
though Japanese and American dogs bark the same they shall not
understand each other!”
+)
Melster is Sam’s highly methodical mother’s maiden name
edited 10/22/23 1310