I’m fine. How are you?
Now this is really funny. Mama read me a great piece about the difference between Russians and Americans. Mama has always wanted to visit Russia, even if Putin is there, and her brother speaks fluent Russian so he might be able to coach her before a trip, but what’s really great is that Russians actually TELL you how they are when asked, “How are you?”
Well, you and I know that we ask that all the time when meeting a friend, “Hey, there, how are you?” And the answer, nine out of ten times is, “Oh, fine.” “Great!” Or the one I really detest because it hurts my little grammatical ears, “I’m good!”
Let’s not get into that—good at what, good FOR what, good instead of bad?–Well, I’m more interested in a Russian’s response, because when you ask that question, a Russian thinks you are really interested in an answer and that you are being very personal with him/her and so he/she responds, telling you all about the fact that his mother-in-law decided to move in with him and his wife, or about the bee that stung him yesterday and the wound won’t heal or maybe he just wants to tell you how he thought he was going deaf and it was just ear wax!!! At any rate, it’s polite to listen to the response to “How are you?” Just be prepared!
It’s funny, no? That someone might really answer the question (as mama decided to do years ago so maybe she has some Russian blood but her friends thought she was losing it), “How are you” with a running monologue on what is really going on!
But the writer of the article, Alina Simone, ended it with something wonderful—It’s all well and good to respond, “Fine”, but you must add, “…but it’s complicated.”
I don’t know why this touched me so much, but mama is always asking me, “Loulou, how’re you doing on this beautiful morning?” And I don’t just say, “Fine.”
I say, “Well I’d be doing a helluva lot better if you anthros would stop snuggling around in the bed and get up and play The String Game with me and then get out the Purina turkey en gelée so I can get back my energy after that long night’s stressful sleep!”
Oh, god, don’t let me be related to one of those Russian kitties…..
Kitty of the Damned!
