keep it in the kitchen
May. 29th, 2022 08:19 pmI was having my lunch in the break room yesterday between shifts at The Park when I overheard the schedule makers trying to schedule Sunday. Apparently there was a lot of movement going on due to people being unavailable. At one point I heard one of them say “everything is filled now except for back of the train.” Being a good, conscientious employee I quickly volunteered to fill the position (Mainly because working the back of the train means taking train rides all day. Not a tremendous amount of effort. Sitting and riding! It's a close to day off at work as there is). I was congratulated for my team first attitude.
The shift went well today with us taking 15 rides around the track. At one point I had to walk to the back of the train to see if they were extra seats available. Besides sitting on my ass in the caboose this was the hardest thing I had to accomplish. At one point today Matthew the Train Driver had to go to the boys room. I struck up a conversation with a Japanese couple waiting to get aboard. They were with their son who was totally stoked for his first train ride. He was probably five years of age, wearing American flag shorts and a New York Yankee hat. The couples name were Naoko and There’s No Way I Can Pronounce That. They both looked to be in their early 30s. They met in high school in the Hokkaido Prefecture in Japan. They fell in love and have been together since. High school sweethearts. Immediately after they met they discussed someday leaving Japan for America. They made it here three years ago. Their English was fractured but pretty good for having been here only three years. They were a very sweet couple.
If you’ve read this page for more than a week you know that’s not the end of the story. Of course there is a twist. Their son was born in Japan while the couple was planning their exodus to America. They told me they decided to pick out a name that was more American than Japanese.
Their sons name was Elijah.
Don’t get me wrong. Elijah is a perfectly serviceable name. But you know the stereotype. They're first generation in this country and their pronunciation of L is very distinctly R. They gave their only child a name they cannot pronounce correctly. I asked why they didn’t give it him a name easier to pronounce like Bob or Ed. Naoko pointed at her husband, rolled her eyes and said “he dummy!”. Unpronounceable Name laughed and said “first American words she learn!”
The shift went well today with us taking 15 rides around the track. At one point I had to walk to the back of the train to see if they were extra seats available. Besides sitting on my ass in the caboose this was the hardest thing I had to accomplish. At one point today Matthew the Train Driver had to go to the boys room. I struck up a conversation with a Japanese couple waiting to get aboard. They were with their son who was totally stoked for his first train ride. He was probably five years of age, wearing American flag shorts and a New York Yankee hat. The couples name were Naoko and There’s No Way I Can Pronounce That. They both looked to be in their early 30s. They met in high school in the Hokkaido Prefecture in Japan. They fell in love and have been together since. High school sweethearts. Immediately after they met they discussed someday leaving Japan for America. They made it here three years ago. Their English was fractured but pretty good for having been here only three years. They were a very sweet couple.
If you’ve read this page for more than a week you know that’s not the end of the story. Of course there is a twist. Their son was born in Japan while the couple was planning their exodus to America. They told me they decided to pick out a name that was more American than Japanese.
Their sons name was Elijah.
Don’t get me wrong. Elijah is a perfectly serviceable name. But you know the stereotype. They're first generation in this country and their pronunciation of L is very distinctly R. They gave their only child a name they cannot pronounce correctly. I asked why they didn’t give it him a name easier to pronounce like Bob or Ed. Naoko pointed at her husband, rolled her eyes and said “he dummy!”. Unpronounceable Name laughed and said “first American words she learn!”