Two Can

I’ve been picking up El Tecolote lately, a neighborhood newspaper that has every article in both English and Spanish, so you can try to read a story in Spanish, but consult the English if you get stuck, though I suppose the idea is mainly to help Spanish-speaking immigrants learn English.

In the current issue, I noticed an article with colorful photographs toward the back, about an upcoming event, but didn’t look at it carefully until I got to that page. Then I thought, “Wait a minute—is that—?” And sure enough, in the center of the page was a little photograph of Carlos dressed up as a giant toucan at the same event last year.

My mother was commiserating (for the umpteenth time) over his loss lately, saying, “He was a vivid presence. Even from 2500 miles away, he was a vivid presence.”

I was pleased to hear, on NPR, two stories I already knew about from reading El Tecolote! In fact, having had to labor so extensively to read them, they had really stuck in my memory.

I also have saved Radio Mujer (Women's Radio), from Guadalajara, Mexico, as a favorite on my Squeezebox Boom, to help with my pronunciation, which is terrible. I like to employ my spoken Spanish on every possible occasion, of which there are many, but I always start by saying, “Lo siento, yo pronuncio mal, pero—”  I’m sorry, I pronounce badly, but I would like a burrito.

Yesterday a woman was saying on the radio (in Spanish!) that a couple can have opposite preferences, which can be complementary, or a source of stress. One example is religion!