Savvy Women

Just as a follow-up to last week’s Big Brother entry in which I briefly mentioned Deborah Tannen, linguist and author of numerous books on a variety of topics, including, most notably, the relationship between communication and psychology, I’ve decided to blog this twenty-nine minute interview between Tannen and a fawning Karen Allyn.

The video concludes with the two discussing Tannen’s next project (just released, under the title You Were Always Mom’s Favorite!)–a book about sisters–a relationship that Tannen describes as one that’s “extremely close, but it’s extremely competitive and hierarchical” just as is the relationship between mothers and daughters.

If you’ve been reading my most recent blogs, you know that I’m in America now and have been for about a month.

A week or so ago, I was visiting my maternal grandmother in her little country home in Christoval, Texas. As soon as I arrived at her house, she called as many relatives as she could get on the phone and told them all that I was in town and that they should hurry out to see me since I’d only be around for a couple of days or so.

People began to arrive by the carload. Aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews all came through her front door and then shook my hand or hugged me. It had been twelve long months since I’d seen any of these people.

That first night, after dinner, we settled in my grandmother’s living room and had one of those rambling group conversations that are so common at large family gatherings. At one point or another, we talked about the weather, politics, current events, pop culture, fashion, and food, among many other things. Of course, we gossiped too, about everyone under the sun.

I don’t exactly remember how it got started, but someone in our large group said something about young Americans, and the talk took off in that direction. Lance, a fellow about my age who married one of my cousins, asserted that, in his opinion, young people today lack a “work ethic.”

Some people agreed with him and others didn’t. I kept mostly silent and just listened as the debate raged on. It seems that the longer I live outside America and the older I get, the less contact I have with young Americans, so I felt that it was important that I just see what everyone else had to say.

Several days later, I ran across the video that I’ve decided to share with you. I don’t want to spoil the thing by telling you all about it here. I do want to say, though, that if Lexi Lehrman, the girl featured in it, is any indication of what young Americans are like, this country has nothing to worry about.

By the way, breast cancer is a subject I know something about because my paternal grandmother, a German-speaking woman who had a great impact on my life, died of the disease before I’d even reached my teens.

After watching, if you want to find out how you can get involved with Lexi’s project, check out http://lovelexi.org/.

Troy Headrick
The American University in Cairo
Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
contact@savvy-women-magazine.com

Quick preview. This video is about dogs–old ones–that wear really cool sunshades.

Watching it reminded me of my mom. I guess I’m easily reminded of her right now because it’s that time of year when I’m preparing to fly back home, to Texas, for summer vacation.

My mother is the proud owner of two dachshunds, or as I prefer to say, two kielbasas (hold the mustard).

The two beasts in question are named Lilli and Harper. I’m not for sure what inspired my mother to name Lilli Lilli, but she has told me that Harper was named after Harper Lee, author of her all-time favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird.

I know that my timing is off by a few weeks, but let’s go ahead and think of this blog as my Mother’s Day present. HAPPY LATE MOTHER’S DAY, MOM!!!

Every summer there’s always a period of adjustment whenever I arrive at my mother’s house from whatever far-flung place I’ve been living. Of course, I always have jetlag and reverse culture shock those first few days until my body and mind become acclimated. By far, the biggest adjustment of all, though, is getting used to being around those two sleek hounds again. Conversely, it always takes a little while for them to get reacquainted with me.

Those first few days right after my arrival are always tricky. During this period, the dogs are apt to bark wildly every single time I emerge from the bedroom where I stay when I’m visiting. Their little doggie brains just can’t seem to process what it means to have a stranger (a tall one with a deep voice!) in the house. I often catch them in the act of sneaking up on me, extending their noses toward my legs, and then giving me ye ole sniff of inspection. Of course, I see this as the epitome of rudeness. How would they feel if I tiptoed up to them and repeatedly inhaled in their general direction?

My mother does not think of Lilli and Harper as dogs. In fact, she doesn’t even call them dogs. She refers to them as “short people,” and with legs that measure right at four inches long, I’d have to say her description is apt, at least as concerns the shortness bit.

Observing my mother interact with those short people reminds me of the time when my brother and I were young (and short) and living at home. Every summer I invariably overhear my mother say something to the dogs like “NO FIGHTING!” and immediately have one of those strange, déjà vu experiences. It’s really weird to hear my mother saying the same things to Lilli and Harper that she used to say to the two of us. It’s like having the opportunity to be a third party to my own upbringing.

I’ve never asked my mother about this, but I think she got the dogs because she is one of those mothers who somehow developed an addiction to mothering, so when the house got empty, she had to fill it again with “people” who needed her. There was a craving there that had to be satisfied.

I think this summer, when I go back home, I’ll ask her about my theory and about why she seems to need those hairy midgets so much…