Gli uascia farra giara: a Story About Context

. As a teen I worked for my namesake Uncle Frank at his small grocery store in the section of Waterbury where many Italian-American immigrants had settled. Unlike some other immigrant groups, who mostly came in large waves during 1890-1920, our customers arrived at scattered dates right up to the present. Thus it was not uncommon to hear the Italian language spoken on the street and in stores.
. I've always had an interest in languages. So the necessity of some knowledge of Italian for doing business was all I needed for motivation. I learned quite a bit, with our customers as teachers, especially how to express prices and weights, and how to count change at the cash register.
. We stocked some items specifically because they were popular with them, such as baccalà (dried salted codfish), sardo (hard grating cheese), and broccoli rabe a nearly flowerless variety of the vegetable. So I learned all those, and also -- to my great delight for the music they carried in pronounciation -- the names of the immense varieties of pasta.
. These people were excellent at preparing foods from scratch, usually preferring fresh goods to canned. So some of the trade was seasonal. In late summer, for example, we sold purple grapes by the case, rather than by the pound, for their winemaking. If I could not immediately understand a customer's needs I could usually find out what they wanted by asking a series of questions, or indicating an area of the store. One day an older woman, "right off the boat" as they used to say, came in for a product. When she asked for it, it did not quite sound like English. In fact it was expressed musically as if it were Italian, so I thought she was saying something like: "Gli uascia farra giara...?" I was stumped. But since I heard what sounded like "wash" I asked her "Sapone?" She shook her head "no." Then since "giara" sounded like a traditional quantity of weight in Italy I walked over to the produce stand and with a sweep of my hand (gesturing is always welcome in Italian) asked "questa?". "No" she indicated. However the sweep of hand happened to stop in the direction of enormous piles of boxes of canning jars . (It was canning season). Her eyes lit up and she indicated the Mason jars, along with their hardware such as glass covers. Bravo!
. I did not recognize the English word she was trying to say because I had never heard it used in connection with canning. But what experience did I, a teenage male, have about canning? Very little! Evidently the American locals used a New England expression "washer" for the seal which was otherwise known as a "jar rubber." So this was the noun she learned.
. You see, I couldn't understand "Italian" because I really didn't understand the English! Double context problem! Now it was very plain: Gli uascia farra giara = th' washe' far th' jara!

What a Difference a Haircut and New Eyeglasses Make...

.  This week I'm trying to catch up on stuff that's been neglected, needs tending, or needs to be made ship-shape. I got most of that stuff done. Then I decided that it's time to pay a little attention to myself and maybe get a haircut, and get to the optometrist's for some long-overdue new glasses, and that would get me almost up to date.

. Women try out a new look from time to time by getting a different 'do. It can make for quite a change in appearance.

But you know, a haircut can make a similar radical change in a man's appearance as well. Here are pictures of me "before" and "after" my haircut at the shop of my friendly French barber, Richard Dumont, today. What a difference a haircut, mustache trim, and a change of pants can make!

. Treating myself to these things seems to have boosted my confidence, and lifted my spirits, as I automatically stood up straighter afterwards. You can see the positive change in my posture. In fact I'd swear it also made my head look smaller!