Anthropomorphisms and such

Well, it has come full circle.

My good friend, "Boink", and I are always at it. We share out-laws (ex in-laws) and they were/are a colorful bunch of characters. I won't mention names (to protect the guilty), but most of them are originally from New York City, or nearby.

"Boink" and I are very good at imitation of others' accents or dialects. We have both lived in Washington, D.C. for quite a while (I left about 6 years ago, and I still miss it). There are many colorful characters up there, too. Suffice it to say that we could hang out with tha bruthas and the sistahs with no problem, in spite of the fact that we are much fairer than aforementioned personages. We can do just about any dialect from any part of the country, including, of course, Southern, Midwest, New England, New York, to Silicon Valley/Teen Up talk.
"Like ... fer shure ..."

We share a father-out-law who speaks in a slow, meandering, Brooklynese, and in his mind, is convinced that the only good decade was the 1950's. And if you try to get him to be hip, it sort of reminds you of 1950's hep becomes hep-hop.

Me: So, Wassupwicha?
F.O.L.: Huh? Wuzza-wizza-woo-woo? (He grins) I don’t hang out much with the ‘bros,’ ya know. Know what I mean, Chas … huh Chas?
Me: I think I know what you mean.
Boink: So, what would you think of eating at a zesty Cajun Restaurant?
F.O.L.: I really feature a good gumbo, you know?
Boink: I think I know, yanno?
F.O.L. : Of course, I’m always on the prowl for a good pie, with lots of chy-eese (cheese), yanno? The greasiah the bettah.

Etc.

Then of course, there are the Aunt and Uncle-out-law who are erudite, sophisticated and worldly, and who moved from the posh New Jersey suburbs of New York to a small town in the South. (Go Figure!) His voice is smooth and sophisticated, and from time to time he throws in his trademark verbal filler ("Ahhh"). Hers is a combination of Latin America and New York meet the Midwest. Typical convo:

Him: Chas, Boink ... Come in. Make yourselves comfortable.
Me: Good to see you.
Him: {Wry smile} Good to be seen.
Him: (to his wife) "Ahhhh ... babe … what would you think of the group of us catching a meal, and a Broadway play? Perhaps we could listen to some show tunes on the way to put us in the mood? Are we all amenable?"
Her: "Em-eh, yes, dahling. That would be, em, lovely. I seem to have forgotten to ask for a play bill, so we’ll just have to wing it. That doesn’t bother you, does it, em, Chas?"
Me: “Sure. Sounds like wassup!”
Him: {smiling wryly again} “I’m not sure what language you just spoke in, but, ahhh… as you wish. While we wait, you gentlemen might want to indulge in some wine, or perhaps, if you’re in an adventurous mood, some 10-year-old Glenfidditch.”

I could start on my favorite “Christian-isms” but I don’t want to rankle some unwitting soul unnecessarily (at least not too much). Besides, it’s hard to write in a Midwest or Southern accent, without it looking like a weird patois. Somethings are just better left unwritten.

But the interesting part, is, Web Diva is beginning to borrow some of our imitations of the colorful characters, especially Father-out-law, and it makes me (and Boink) crack up. Boink and I have been doing this since long before I met Web Diva. To hear her adopt our nutty ways makes me chuckle. And smile. {sigh ... ahh, l'amour, l'amour}

P.S. The F.O.L is actually a really nice guy. Verry interesting, but nice! :-D