“It’s good to be prepared,” reckons Norm Pilbeam of Castle Hill. “I read today that to safeguard this year’s US election, the Arizona secretary of state has co-ordinated active shooter and combat training for election workers. Difficult to decide if this is funny or sad.”
Speaking of the home of the brave, Andrew Cohen of Glebe has more on using one’s credit card (C8) there: “To add to the woes of visiting the USA, nowadays, no major American airline or agency will accept Australian-issued credit cards for domestic flights, not even Amex. And you can’t get an appointment with a doctor if you have no US phone number.”
“As well as scraping frost off windscreens, the Bankcard (C8) was perfect for scraping leeches off legs,” suggests David Kerr of Fern Bay.
Mary Watson of Balgowlah Heights notes that “There is a repetitive bird call that sounds like ‘pitiful, pitiful, pitiful.’ I always hear it when I am playing golf.”
The Datsun diatribe (C8) keeps rolling, with the ubiquitous Seppo Ranki of Glenhaven stating that “my wife’s 120Y was so responsive to wind that it would have been a contender for the America’s Cup in that heady period of the early 1980s.” Are you sure? Granny could’ve sworn that was the Toyota Lexcen.
It was only a matter of time before this discussion touched on one of the most notorious clunkers of all, with Jenny Stephenson of Wollongong reminding us that “the barrage of criticism on Datsun features should be considered in context given the best feature of the Leyland P76 was its boot.”
“As to family terms for in-laws (C8), the French have a kindly term for step-mothers or mothers-in-law,” says Nola Tucker of Kiama; “‘belles-meres’ or beautiful mothers. And so we are.” Nice, but here at Column 8, we prefer the term “belles-mamies”.
“Our grandchildren would like to remind your correspondent that the terms Oma and Opa are already taken,” adds (Opa) Herman Beyersdorf of Bangalee.
This, from a Melburnian (C8) who knows: “The local, and therefore correct, pronunciation of the suburb Reservoir is: rezuvo(r). Except you don’t actually pronounce the second r, just think it,” advises Susan Bradley of Eltham (Vic). “I have this on the highest authority: the company that repairs my tubas, Legato Pty Ltd, has been based there since the early 1950s. The repairers grew up in that area and are working there still.”
Column8@smh.com.au
No attachments, please. Include name, suburb and daytime phone.