![]() ![]() My son gave me an expensive electronic Translator prior to my going off to Europe a few years ago. “I can relate, as I relied on such a device myself. “One might gather that this puzzle company possibly and sadly relied on a Translator application to convert to English, instead of paying someone fluent in both languages to write their instructions. Viz of Woodbury and his Japanese-jigsaw-puzzle instructions : Gaining something in translation (responsorial) “Well, finally a bargaining price was settled on, and the two of them continued with their browsing and noticed, a little while later down the way, another Paskers football ‘one-of-a-kind’ blanket at a different market! One has to admit, it’s a conversation piece, if nothing else - a real rarity, and a funny one at that! Not everyone can have a genuine Paskers football blanket!” ” ‘ Si, one of a kind,’ the merchant shot back. ‘Yeah, but it’s not even spelled right,’ he finagled. He was trying to get the merchant to give him a lower, bargain price on it because it was flawed. It proudly displayed ‘The Green Bay Paskers’ logo on it. One was a particular standout, and even though his friend was a Vikings fan, he had to get this one. “His friend noticed some blankets with NFL logos on them. With a concerned, almost stricken look, she came over to me and said: ‘Is it your father?!’ She spied me from across the way with my phone close to my face. “What I thought was 10 minutes with my phone must have turned into 30, as my wife was curious about my prolonged absence. ![]() We have received a number of calls in recent years hailing us to the ER to be with Dad. “I must preface what happened next with the fact that my father is aged, with some health and balance issues. (I suppose I could have called up a video image if I had known how.) I nursed my martini and kept abreast of the seesaw battle and tried to be coy about it. I am not facile yet in its use, and totally lucked out when I typed ‘Vikings, Packers playoff game.’ Up popped a site of the play-by-play in near-real time. I eased myself into a corner of the great room and whipped out my phone. I had been able to watch the first half in my hotel room, but was dying to know how the game was progressing during the cocktail hour. I like to say that I’ve been a die-hard Vikings fan since 1961, though the truth is more likely since 1964, when I was 7. The rehearsal dinner was a huge and fancy affair and began during the second half of the Vikings’ glorious victory over the Packers at the Metrodome. “Last week we were at a high-society wedding at a Vanderbilt mansion in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Last month I did get an iPhone for 99 cents, though it costs me about $750 a year to run the darn thing. While I was still content with my flip phone, she pestered me to get a smart phone. “Two years ago, she graduated to a smart phone. I relented and had to admit both were handy. Paul: “Six years ago, my wife browbeat me into joining the 21st century by buying a cellphone and an answering machine. ![]()
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