A couple of months back, I got irritated with the way a laundry was doing my shirts. So, I decided to change laundries. I randomly picked a new laundry that was conveniently on my way to work. Coincidentally, it is run by an elderly Chinese couple whos mastery of the English language is limited to 1) Welcome, 2) Thank you, 3) and the days of the week when you can pick up your shirts. My mastery of the Chinese language is limited to picking a number on a Chinese menu. Ill have number eight please. But, my shirts have never been cleaned and ironed so perfectly before. They are ironed with the precision of a brain surgeon. Somehow this elderly Chinese couple and this Georgia redneck with a thick southern drawl have learned to communicate without speaking one anothers language. For an enterprising reality TV producer, there is potentially a humorous show herein. When I pull in to their drive thru area, she comes shuffling out, bowing repeatedly and says, Wehcome! For God knows what reason, I start bowing back. Then thru my car window, I will hand her a laundry bag of my dirty shirts and the receipt from last weeks drop off. Then I say, Ehh? She then responds, Wehdey. Or whatever day of the week my shirts will be ready. She then goes shuffling off to collect my cleaned shirts. Moments later she will return with my clean shirts, open my back door and hang them. Then she comes to my window and hands me a cash register receipt for what I owe her. I hand her my debit card and we each bow again without speaking. She shuffles off to run my debit card and comes back again with my copy of the receipt. Curiously, she never asks me to sign it. She then bows again and says, Tink u. To which I bow and say, Wehcome. Wehdey? She nods and repeats Wehdey. Then I drive away looking at her waving to me in the rear view mirror. Repeat weekly. Its the international language of laundry.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 11:49:00 +0000
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