As I have traveled to different places in the world, I am always amused when people claim, “We have no accent.” It’s true – if they have never lived anywhere else. But my contention is that we all have accents.
I admit that there are standard accents. In England, there is the BBC broadcaster’s accent, which is a kind of measuring stick. The American equivalent would be what one can hear on the national nightly news. In Kenya, national radio broadcasts are spoken in a standard baseline Swahili that is most easily understood by the largest majority of the listening population. But those are still accents!
Another factor is saturation. If we are used to hearing a particular voice on a long-term basis, we put their voice into our accent-less category. In high school, my friend Bryan’s mom was from Quebec. She had a wonderful French-Canadian lilt. He thought she had no accent. My dad grew up in Texas. Bryan claimed he had a southern accent. I thought he had none.
The lovely model for today’s photo is my daughter Rachel.
Car magazine
The little things add up.
When this coin was minted in 1971, it could buy a lot more than it will today.
Saturday, a salesperson for a security company came to our door. I cut him off after about 2 sentences – but felt guilty doing so. The guy was a bit worn-around-the-edges, and he looked like he could have used the sale. But we cannot afford to pay the monthly fees for such a system. And thankfully, our neighborhood has low enough crime that we really don’t need it. (Nor do we have that much a thief could fence easily – except the computer I am typing this on.)
The 
I like natural cereal, when I can afford it.
During the new year’s holidays, we broke away from normal life for a family overnight at a nearby hotel. It was a fitting way to see in the new year. We had a great time. The kids spent half the time swimming. Heather and I joined them some but enjoyed reading a bit by the side of the pool.
