Master of Gibberish

These folks remind me of how in my early years I mastered the art of unintelligible talking. Yes, I took French in college, but I seem to have perfected the nonsensical talk to where the causal observer would think that I am fluent in this strange alien language. I describe it as a combination of French, Swahili, Iroquoian (language of the Cherokee), Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Fijian. I call it “Jim Speak” and it has been useful in my wanderings.

You may say. “What does this have to do with the folks in the robes?” I recall in the 70’s I would often fly to Washington, DC, as part of my job. At the airport it was common that travelers would be confronted with members of the Unification Church donned in their white robes and sporting shaven heads. Reverend Sun Myung Moon heads the Unification Church and his followers are often called “Moonies”. When a Moonie with a flower in hand would approach me and request money, I would turn on my “Jim Speak”. The individual would smile and leave. Worked beautifully every time!

When Mariam ( our close friends Sondra and Kazam Nasseri’s youngest daughter ) was small, I would use “Jim Speak”. Kazam is a good friend and was born in Iran. Mariam would listen intently as if trying to figure out if I was speaking English or Persian. To this day, I greet Kazam with my special language and he, of course, responds in his native language. It is a special greeting that we share.

“Jim Speak” came in handy once when I was teaching an Elderhostel class. Elderhostel is a program that provides adventures in lifelong learning for older adults through educational travel programs. I had taken the group on a field trip to the mountains and I was driving a van full of lovely ladies who were Catholic nuns. As we traveled home, the ladies started singing hymns. It was a great memory. They asked if I could sing? Well I did a great rendition of The Sound of Music (Edelweiss) in “Jim Speak”. It was a great performance if I do say myself. The group was so quiet and after my performance, they clapped and would have given me a standing ovation if they could have stood in the van. They respectively never asked what language I had used to sing "Eldelweiss".

If I see you and you heard a strange language emitting from my lips, you must be a friend!