While I was in Scotland for Hogmanay (BTW, Happy New Year everyone!) I met up with an old friend who I've seen only once since I was 18. My first thought when I clapped eyes on Tommy in the hotel lobby wasn't "my, he's aged" (incidentally, he hasn't) but "SCOTLAND IS NOT IN ENGLAND". When I was a mere slip of a girl, I sent him a postcard from Spain addressed: Glasgow, Scotland, England: I suppose I wasn't entirely convinced the Spanish knew the whereabouts of Scotland. Tommy, of course, never let me hear the last of it, and to this day, when I write Scotland on an envelope, I'm thinking "not England".
This made me think of other legacies people have left me over the years:
Toothbrushes = Cory Doctorow: I have obessively kept a cap on my toothbrush now for the past couple of years, after Cory told me the disgusting "fact" that when you flush the loo, tiny airborne pieces of fecal matter... well, you get the picture. Thanks Cory, I still think about this every time I clean my teeth.
"If you haven't anything nice to say about a person, don't say anything at all" = ex-Father-in-law: everytime I say something nasty, I think this.
Bicycle gloves = Brett Maraldo: he once commented, "I can't believe you don't wear gloves in the city, if you fall off your hands'll look like they've been through a cheese grater." I wore naff little fingerless mountain co-op gloves for years. Moving to Holland fortunately cured me of all compulsions towards cycling gear.
"bee-bee-bee-bee..." = Sandra Kasturi: she has a bee-phobia, which manifests itself through much flapping and shouting of "bee-bee-bee-bee". Everytime I see one of the little fellas, I hear her mantra in my head.
"never eat shredded wheat" = primary school teacher: to remind us of the points of the compass.See also B-E-A-U-tiful.
posted by Helen Waters at 1/4/2002 06:48:33 AM