The Louisiana Melting Pot

A post I removed, just a short while ago, The Louisiana Melting Pot, was about a language exchange on the street. It was merely for entertainment. Nobody was the butt of any joke, but I did make up one concrete thing.

I walked into a convenience store where a cashier was speaking Arabic, or so it sounded. "Konichiwa" ended our conversation of what Japanese was available, instead of beginning the exchange. A Jamaican coin was passed, because of the language and intent, none of which was to defraud, and the bill was paid in full, in American dollars. Outside I shouted "Boom." I traveled many more blocks, four of the long ones in our city. I met a Spanish speaker on the street and attempted to get the Spanish word for gun. I bandied about in Castellano: mano (hand) fuego (gun) Co moe say dee say in Esp an yole? (Como se dice en Español - how do you say in Spanish). He appeared slightly hesitant in providing the term (the Spanish word is the word). I asked him just to liven the morning. I walked to a dollar store. An African American man inside said arm to a young female girl. I said to him, "Utras bole - Spanish for forearm." That was the incorrect term for forearm I got from the Spanish speaking man down the street. I just wanted them to look the term up. I gave the little girl 70 cents, two quarters and two dimes, my last silver change in the world. On the way to the University I passed two Asian looking men, one who seemed very Japanese and one who was from further west in Asia. I postulated about their origin. Their are many Hindus, Koreans and Japanese near the campus. I failed to say anything to them (I should have said something in French, since I studied it so long. It's just very difficult to remain practiced in any foreign languages without constant interaction with everyday native speakers). White Anglo Saxon Protestants have been said to have long called my ancestors, Irish men and women, niggers. I'm part Caribeño, Caribbean Island Indian, so I'm even less white than other Irish men. I use my language to try to bend the lines of stereotype and provoke thought, to educate, in what way I can. I used the term perfidious to refer to what I did, and that was incorrect. What I did was not treacherous, and is a good reason for removing the material as it existed. I have recreated the written work with the first person completely intact, which I have learned from inference can be considered very poor form in a writer. It implies ego, and this is something I have lacked my entire life. i have never been overly proud of myself, and go to great lengths to avoid being perceived as someone overly full of pride. This is done.