I'm walking home from shopping on a calm & hot summer evening. And I'm thinking: "What if someone asked me in English for directions ?! I never pay attention to street names and such, I'd have no idea what to say. But at least I speak English "
("someone" = "cute English girl" )
50 meters later, a car stopps and a guy comes out and waves at me. As I approach him, he starts asking me in English how to get from Lyon to Valence. No idea... But what I can tell him is how to the get to the train station in Lyon (I'm actually in Villeurbanne, not Lyon, but close), and that he could ask there for further information.
Granted, it was a guy, not a girl. And his English was worse than mine. (since when is "autobahn" an English word ?! ) But still, it's a sign that someone up there is trying to give me what I want. He/she/it just needs to work on the details...
Now what will I wish for next ?!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Peace on earth, so that we get to go to war in space.
(I'm reading Lathe of Heaven right now.)
Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
Get by with a little help from your friends?
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Hey, "autobahn" makes a heck of a lot more sense than the actual English term... "freeway"? What the heck is a free-way? And how come freeways are often elevated and cost money, while "highways" are never high nor costly?
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
I saw a move based on Lathe of Heaven... didn't understand it at all...
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I heard that there was a movie based on it. I'm not surprised that it didn't make sense.
I am really enjoying the book, though.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
ARGH...the movie was so terrible. I tuned out halfway through it and barely remember what happened that led up to the ending. That's how memorable it was.
But the premise was very good, and I'd like to read the book if they ever get one at Bookman's.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
mph, peace on Earth ? I don't think I'm ready to take the blame for he/she/it understanding the sounds, but not the writing... (p*ss...) Other suggestions ?!
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Actually, "Freeways" are always free. If you pay to use a road it is a "Toll-road" or "Turnpike". I'm pretty sure the term "freeway" came about to describe roads that weren't toll-roads or turnpikes since most actively maintained roads in the past were on private property and the owners charged a toll.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
yup
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Corwin, I have no idea what you just said. Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Really? People around here (central NY) are always referring to I-90 (all toll) as "The Freeway". It's really the only thing in this entire state I would really refer to as a freeway, coming from CA... even the highways here are crummy little two-lane nightmares.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
He means the Powers That Be might misunderstand him and we'd find ourselves drenched in something nasty.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Karl Ed, right on !
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
[edit - this is in response to z's comment above] Common usage aside, the word does not apply to toll-roads. You probably won't find I-90 listed as the "Such-and-Such Freeway" on any map. Unfortunately many people get lazy in their choice of words and don't really thing about what a term really means.
Additionally, interstate (and many state) roads are more "routes" than "roads". So, for example, I-95 can include sections that are toll-roads. State highways are good examples of this as many go right through the center of towns making zig-zags through the populated areas using ordinary city streets.
[ July 23, 2004, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: KarlEd ]
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Good to know, Karl!
I've found that the NE seems a lot more persnickety about the proper names for things than the area where I grew up. In CA, it seemed like you could name a community whatever you thought sounded good... the City of Chico, the Town of Paradise.... but here in NY, "city", "town", "village", and "hamlet" all have very specific meanings. Thus you end up with the Village of Dryden and the Town of Dryden, and they're apparently completely different communities. Very strange. Posted by closeyourmind (Member # 5916) on :
Actually, a freeway is a limited access road without any traffic impeding devices (i.e. traffic lights). The lack of such devices is what makes it free. Refer to the freeway definition from free-definition.com. Apparently the non tollroad definition is a common misconception.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Hmmm, I stand corrected.
But wouldn't this also remove Toll-road from the "Freeway" category since a toll booth is most definitely an obstruction?
[ July 26, 2004, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: KarlEd ]
Posted by HRE (Member # 6263) on :
quote: It's really the only thing in this entire state I would really refer to as a freeway, coming from CA... even the highways here are crummy little two-lane nightmares.
Atlanta: 12 lanes in each direction.
Posted by WheatPuppet (Member # 5142) on :
2 lanes in each direction!? There are only two of those in my entire state. Three lanes and more are for flatlanders and big city folk. Real motorists drive the windy pothole-ridden one-lane highways of Vermont's backcountry at interstate speeds. I know I do.
[ July 26, 2004, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: WheatPuppet ]
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
Such coincidences are actually proof that we are all part (on some level) of the non-local organizing intelligence.
Coincidences on a larger scale can also include the rather common occurrence of separate people coming up with the same idea or process at the same time, while having no knowledge of the other's work or intentions.
Or, say you think about an old friend you haven't seen for years, and they call you that same day.
I think when we move closer to discovering and following the purpose of our lives, coincidences like that become more common (or so it seems to me).
*blush* Why, yes. I have been reading Deepak Chopra. *snicker*
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Corwin -- you said this guy spoke worse English than you, which to me means he is not a native-English speaker.
So why did he choose to use English to communicate with you? What do you think was his native language?
Farmgirl
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Can I tell a weirdest coincidence story?
When I lived in the dorms, I woke up one morning and was trying to remember the French word for rabbit. I knew I knew the word, but for the life of me couldn't remember it. As I left my room and turned the corner, I saw a girl putting up a poster for a play (which I hadn't heard of until this point) called Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Aha! That's it! Lapin!
Now what are the chances of that?
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Farmgirl, from his use of the word 'autobahn', as well as from his accent, I'd say probably German. As to why he was talking to me in English: he was just passing by France, he had a loooooong list of cities he had to pass through. I didn't look for departure or destination though. So my guess is that he just didn't know any French, and enough English not to be embarrassed about it
Annie, wow, that's one strange coincidence, and it's even stranger that it ressembles mine, involving something in a foreign language with respect to the country it has happened in. I'm glad you wrote it here, makes me feel less lonely in my weirdeness
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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)![[Confused]](confused.gif)
No idea... But what I can tell him is how to the get to the train station in Lyon (I'm actually in Villeurbanne, not Lyon, but close), and that he could ask there for further information.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
) But still, it's a sign that someone up there is trying to give me what I want. He/she/it just needs to work on the details...![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)