One of the obvious drawbacks of this career is not seeing family and friends as often as you'd like. Fortunately, with advances in technology, communication has gotten a lot easier and cheaper. In fact, a call from my cell in Nepal to the States only costs about 3 cents a minute. Quite a deal.
Last night I called two of my nieces to wish them happy birthdays, since they were both born in mid-November. Speaking with them is always a joyful and enlightening experience. They're each hilarious in their own unique ways. Here is an excerpt from our conversations. Their words are paraphrased, but you'll get the gist of their distinct personalities.
Younger Niece (YN), Aged 7
Me: Hey kiddo. Happy birthday.
YN: Thanks Uncle Beef. I got a wrecking ball.
Me: What?
YN: I got a wrecking ball!!
Me: You are a wrecking ball.
YN: NO! I got a wrecking ball!
Me: Oh. My mistake. What will you do with your wrecking ball?
YN: I'll destroy stuff.
Me: Naturally.
YN: You should talk to my sister now. She'srighthereloveyoubye!
Older Niece (ON), Aged 10
Me: Happy Birthday!
ON: Thanks. So how do you like being a diplomat?
Me: It's pretty great. But sometimes it's kind of sad denying people entry to the U.S.
ON: Do you have to deny them for medical reasons like they did at Ellis Island?
Me: (Pause..."I didn't know that," I think.) Umm, yeah, actually sometimes we can't let people in because they have infectious diseases.
ON: But doesn't that increase the disease in their own country?
Me: (Err..."Kid's got a point," I think.) Perhaps, but that's why we use the US Agency for International Development and the Center for Disease Control to help them fight those diseases.
ON: Then that also benefits America because there are fewer sick people in the world and less unrest.
Me: I know some presidential debates you would probably win right about now.
ON: What?
Me: Never mind.
Looking forward to more deep and/or destructive conversations in the future.
To be completely clear, I must point out that the youngest didn't actually indicate that she received a 'wrecking ball'...her actual comment was that she has a 'weapons wall'. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like; several weapons(albeit 'toy' weapons-foam nunchaku, wooden swords, and an assortment of bludgeons)hung on display on the wall in her room.
ReplyDeleteIn a lot of ways, this clarification is probably just pointless semantics as in either case it is a completely bizarre thing for a 7 year old to have.
It is also true that in either instance, the primary function will, in fact, be to 'destroy stuff'. I only make the point in order to help you maintain your journalistic accuracy....