Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 7:49 AM
Subject: Fwd: Memories from India
Arthur Sanford wrote:
Subject: Memories from India
Just some funny things tonight: soon after we arrived in India I was
asked by the pastor of the Ward Memorial Church to speak for them and he would interpret--so I did and after ward asked him how it was interpreting for me and he said "Oh it was easy you such a simple person" well I wondered because in my thinking "simple had a certain connotation. then found out that for him the word meant clear and concise--so I felt better. he was the one who couldn't interpret "blue" tho so maybe I wasn't as simple as he thought another time one of my sayings came back at me: somehow with one of the men I used the expression about making both ends meet-- soon afterward I got a letter from him in which he asked me for help as he said "I just can't have meat at both ends" again I realized I was not as "simple" as I should be. one day some packages came from the US and I got a note to call for them (was in English)- so went to the Post Office and asked the Postmaster in Hindi for them --he refused to answer me then one of the aides came and said this was Bengal and I would have to speak Bengali to get my mail, which I didn't speak, so I just walked into his office sat down across the desk from him and said in Hindi that Hindi is the national language of India so tomorrow I am going to meet the Magistrate in Midnapore and I will ask him how come the mail won't honor the National language= I got my packages "right now" and he said in
English that he would always be glad to help me. and he was ...one day I had gone to Calcutta and had left our Jeep in the parking place at the railway station--well when I got back and close to the car there sat a big monkey on the hood =--he was pulling the windshield wiper out and letting it flip back and then he would make a big grin --was having fun but when I got close he grabbed the wiper with both hands and held and hissed at me - I thought there goes the wiper so I turned and walked away and he soon got tired and jumped down and then I got the car - no damage done. was that what you would call "monkey business?" nuff for tonight love to you all me
9/3/2002