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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Flashback: Proper English

When I was little, my mommy forbade us to use her colognes, so, of course we stole uses ever so often, and we thought it a great honour and privilege to be given a 'legal spray' from the lady herself.

One day we were all going somewhere very special, and mummy felt extra-generous with her cologne. She lined us up (four kids) and sprayed each of us: two squirts behind the ears, one on the neck, and one squirt splat in the middle of our chests.

So my turn came, and I got sprayed. And I felt good for about two minutes. Then the damn thing started to burn.

Ruthie: Mummy, it a bun me inna me chest...
Mummy: Speak better than that child!!
Ruthie (baring her burning chest-- and with a heavy lisp): It is burning me into my yasso!

PS: 'Yasso' - Jamaican patois for 'here-so' or 'here'

7 comments:

ruthibel said...

mummy tells everybody that story... she thinks it's sooo funny!

clnmike said...

Lol, Thanks for explaining that.

ruthibel said...

no prob, lol

Angel said...

HA!!!!!

Abeni said...

lol,does it still burn in your yasso?

Anonymous said...

Very funny!

Two things I was always being corrected for:

I loved to say Cho! My grandmother's retort was always: Yuh know wha' cho mean? hog baxide!

I also loved to say watch ya! one of my schoolage friends would always respond,"Speak properly! you must say look here!"
So I adjusted and said "watch here!"

None of that correction ever worked. I still say cho! watchya and kiss my teeth all the time.

laroper18 said...

That's funny. Apparently I have a similar story and fortunately or otherwise I can't remember it well. Oh well :-)