Feisty Repartee

A Mess

Loosely translated into Looziana speak, when referring to an individual, a mess usually means someone is funny, possibly high-spirited, and definitely a handful.

When referring to food items, a mess takes on different, loosely associated connotations: a mess of snap beans is probably a bushel, a mess of oysters (depending on where one is) at a restaurant is a dozen on the half-shell, but at a market or at the docks is a sack of unshucked oysters, and a mess of fish is however many required to feed the people at home.

The odd thing about the expression is most people in the area instinctively know exactly how much a mess of anything is despite the lack of specific unit of measure in ounces, pounds, volume or number.

Wee One is a mess and it has nothing to do with her hygiene or appearance or how many of her there really are.

I called my mother's house yesterday morning. Wee One answered the phone. Upon hearing her angelic (right!) voice, I said: "Hi, honey, how are you this morning?"

She responded: "Hi, Mommy! I knew that was you calling."

"How did you know?"

"You always call first thing in the morning."

"Is grandma around?"

"Yes, ma'am, she's in the shower. Sissy is still sleeping. I was the first one up this morning."

We chit-chatted for a few more minutes until my mother exited the shower. Wee One handed her the phone, but before she spoke to me I heard my mother tell her: "Go wake your sister up."

In the background, I then heard Wee One: "Grandma, I'm very tired."

"Go. Wake. Sissy. Up."

"Grandma, I'm tired of telling you how tired I am."

Bottom line: My mother did not enforce her mandate. She merely laughed when she got on the phone with me to tell me what "a mess" Wee One is.

For the record, Wee One's response is sooooo NOT acceptable for me.

Prediction: Boot camp will begin anew when the chirren return on Sunday. Sgt. Chrissy is loaded for bear.

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blog2.mu.nu/cgi/trackback.cgi/106014

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference A Mess:

» Uh-Oh from Cake Eater Chronicles
Wee One's gonna get it when she gets home on Sunday. I have to admit, if she was my child, I'd be like Chrissy and readying the bad-behavior-breaking boot camp, too. But since she's not, well, I just get to... [Read More]

Tracked on August 5, 2005 10:26 AM

» Brunch: 8/7/05 from basil's blog
Try one of these specials with your supper: Kitten says this is then end. (We bid you a fond farewell WSK). Chrissy has a mess of messes on her hands. Steve has family history advice. Sigmund, Carl and Alfred say [Read More]

Tracked on August 7, 2005 08:16 AM