I did something hilarious but potentially rude at the grocery tonight

[Rabrrrrrr]

I went to the grocery store to pick up some food items, in need of which at the time I was, and while cruising around was kind of following around a mixed-race couple - white woman and African-American man. Nice looking couple, and I was often very close to them. And now that I'm not in NYC, I'm in a place where that kind of mixed-race couple is very rare, and so very obvious, and I try not to look like I'm noticing it out of respect because they probably not only get stared at a lot but probably get a lot of stupid mumbled comments, but, you know, it's difficult. So, I'm a little nervous and self-aware after a while.

Take all that, and then add in this factoid: I also at most times whistle or hum or sing to myself when I'm alone, little ditties that come into my head or I improvise my own music... and at some point tonight I decided, I don't know why, to actually listen to myself.

I paused while a truth slowly dawned on my tired brain...











and then said to myself, "HOLY SHIT! YOU'RE WHISTLING THE ODD COUPLE THEME!"

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Isn't it amazing what comes out of our subconscious mind?

Good story, my dear Rabrrrrrr!

Did they notice? Gawd, I hope not!


:rofl:

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. No, I don't think so. It's not loud enough for anyone else to hear

unless they're quite close.

But I don't know - there were a few times we were very close, and I don't know if I whistling that music then or something else, nor if they could have heard whatever it was anyway.

[Sugar Smack]

2. Rabrrrrrr, May I just say that one of my ultimate fantasies

is to go grocery shopping with you? With your permission, I may post a thread about it.

Meanwhile, hold my baby. He's precious. AREN'T you, bubble-nose?

[matcom]

3. fucking racist pig piece of shit repuke

:grr:




































:popcorn:

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. please, I prefer the more polite "swine", not "pig".

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

























you poopy-head.

[matcom]

12. "poopy-head"??????

yet ANOTHER reference to the color 'BROWN' x(

on edit: that is assuming i didn't eat BEATS tonight i'm sure

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Beats? You eating jazz?

cooooooo, daddio. Cooooooool.

[NewJeffCT]

4. are you subconsciously uncomfortable with them?

is that what you think you're saying?

[XemaSab]

5. To speak up in his defense

I grew up in Oakland. Yes, THAT Oakland.

After years of living in mostly-white towns, I started to NOTICE black people in a way that I hadn't before. Ditto for people of other ethnicities.

It's about what you're used to seeing around. :shrug:

[yvr girl]

6. I always notice black people

I can go days even weeks without seeing one. I actually can't remember when the last time was. They're not as common in Canada (West Coast) as in the States. Now brown people, I don't give a second thought to - Vancouver is very ethnic, just not black.

[NMMNG]

20. Black people don't stand out for me

My neighborhood is well over 50% black, and the area I live in is about 31% black according to the demographic report I pulled up online. Therefore seeing blacks around is nothing new to me. That wasn't always the case, as I was used to living in MA where it was much more white, although the city I lived in also had a pretty good Latino population (whereas I can go for weeks without seeing a Latino around here).

[Celeborn Skywalker]

23. Of course Latinos can be of any race

so maybe you have seen some and not noticed them.

[NMMNG]

24. It's possible

But they make up only 1% of the population around here, so I probably don't run across many of them in my travels.

[XemaSab]

27. That's what I'm saying

When I lived in an area with a large minority presence (minorities were in fact the majority BIGTIME) I didn't notice at all, but living in whiter areas you develop a sense, no matter how Liberal you start out being.

I think being honest about racial issues is the only way to work past it. I think there are some people who are truly colorblind, but those people are rare, and everyone else has to work through it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

35. And when I lived in Harlem, I always spotted the white guys

I was in a 99% Dominican area, and when I moved there I was pretty much for a white person. There were a few others, but not many, and they (and me) stood out like... well, like white guys in a Dominican area.

And I don't think it's a liberal/conservative issue at all - it's just a brain issue. We get used to seeing certain things, and when something is different, our brains point it out for us, whether it's the rare black person in northern minnesota or the water stain in the ceiling that wasn't there yesterday or the limousine on the highway.

[Jamastiene]

41. I second that. Actually, I tend to forget who

is black and who is white and who is this or that until I stop to think about it. The mix is about the same in the area where I live too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Not subconsciously, no.

For some reason, interracial couples don't bother me at all - and, in fact, I am one - except for the African-American man/white woman couple. I don't even mind an African-American/white gay or lesbian couple, nor do I mind black-non-American/white (African/white; African-Candian/white, etc.).

But, while I know in my logical mind that there is nothing wrong with an African-American/white couple, I do still have an unfortuntely emotional response to it, which response I am not proud of, and which is slowly lessening over the years as I work on it.

[NewJeffCT]

11. being in an interracial marriage

I tend to notice other interracial couples.

Of course, I'm a white male with an Asian wife, something that has not been that unusual for a few decades. I think it is still the most common interracial marriage. But, lately I've been noticing more of the ones that were not common even 5-10 years ago - white male with African-American female; Asian male with white or African American female.

we're becoming a brown to light brown society, I think.

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. I tend to notice the interracial ones, too.

I hope that we become more mixed over the years. I'm glad to see so many interracial relationship nowadays amongst the younger ones, white with indian, black with japanese, chinese with pakistani, whatever.

Seems to be a lot more of it, even back in the midwest, and even in small towns, where it was so rare when I was growing up.

[NewJeffCT]

17. a friend of my wife...

a friend of my wife's younger sister is (or was) dating an Indian guy... so, Chinese woman and an Indian man.

[Elidor]

39. Chocolate City!

You take some milk and some dark chocolate and mix it all together...
:7

As the former token white boy in an inner city neighborhood, I know what it's like to stick out.

[bliss_eternal]

31. I do too--

It's weird. Sometimes I feel like I have IR radar of some sort. I see the couples--young and old, the babies, all of it. I love seeing others! Depending on where we are, sometimes I'll get a supportive smile or nodd, like they understand why I seem excited.

I'm a goof--forgive me.

You're right, we are becoming a browner society. Probably won't happen completely in my lifetime, but eventually I'm thinking there won't be any way to categorize people by race anymore--there will be too many blends of various ethnicities and no way to put people into little boxes based on race. They're going to have to base oppression on something other than race. So there!

That's going to be really cool.

:party:

[bliss_eternal]

29. Kind of jumping in here--sorry...

Just wanted to invite you to this area of the boards, in the event you weren't aware of our existence...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=289
Since you state you are part of an inter-racial/multicultural relationship.

It's not a busy area, but I'm hoping to bring more activity and thoughtful discussion to the area. It's a wonderful group! A few people that post there have posted to this thread.

...if you're interested of course. :hi:

[Radio_Lady]

8. Rabrrrrr, I feel ancient. I can't even remember the "Odd Couple"

theme music. I do remember the Green Hornet, Lone Ranger, Milton Berle (Texaco theme), and even Mission Impossible.
Did anyone but you notice what you were whistling (especially the couple)? Probably not.

Here's another story:

Background: I love classical music. When I was swimming in the pool at the Sunterra Resort in Scottsdale, two heavy-set men were enjoying the whirlpool. One of them excused himself to go and answer his cellphone which I could not hear. He started whistling the Can-can theme from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann," a pretty well known piece of music, as he exited the whirlpool -- and was still whistling it when he returned.

Enthusiastic and excited at having found a companion in musical tastes, I called out to him. "Oh, you like Offenbach's can-can music? I've been listening to "Gaite Parisienne" all my life since I was a kid!" He looked at me blankly for a second, and then said, "Oh, THAT music I was whistling? Sorry, but I really don't know what it is. I just have it set up on my cellphone," and sank his ample frame into the whirlpool again.

And with that, I did a surface dive to the bottom of the 4 1/2 ft. deep pool.

[CBGLuthier]

14. I have Erik Satie's Gymnopodie no 1 on my phone and last night

I took a copy of the actual song to a friend's house and played it for him and he couldn't quite place it even though he has heard my phone ring a dozen times.

But at least he is musically educated, just didn't know Satie.

So we went and downloaded the Blood, Sweat & Tears version of it. Quite a nice version.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. That version is a big favorite of mine too!

Those guys definitely rocked! Thanks for the memories.....

:hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. It's really too bad that more people don't know where the music

they "know" (at least the major lines) comes from, like the can can music, or the famous one from Carmen, Ride of the Walkure, etc.

I think they might find "classical" more interesting if they knew that a l;ot of famous stuff they like is actually serious "classical" music.


(I put "classical" in quotes to denote i'm not using it in its technical sense of a specific period, but in the general sense of music composed in a "serious" manner by generally school-trained composers)

[Redstone]

18. And they didn't call the cops?

You're lucky.

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

21. I found a clip of it.

http://www.copadorer.com/oddcouple.mid

[Radio_Lady]

28. Thanks, BikeWriter! I know the theme now! BTW, what is a "midi" --

does it refer to some kind of synthesizer or what???

[Rabrrrrrr]

36. oh my, radio_lady, you ARE dating yourself!

:-)

MIDI (Musical Instrument Device Interface) has been around for 20+ years; it's a protocol for getting computers and electronics (instruments, lights, etc.) so the computer can control them, including feeding all the music to the instruments so that they play the music.

[Radio_Lady]

42. Thanks for the info, Rabrrrrr. I'm always learning something new.

How about this alternate explanation?

Um, "There's no one in my family with the slightest musical inclination who would even know enough to ask the question, much less answer it." That works for me!

I dimly remember the last music appreciation class I took -- it was in the early 1960s, I believe. Damn! The Internet wasn't around then -- only ARPANET, right?)

By the way, I do like DATING MYSELF! Reminds me of this little jingle, from somewhere long ago:

I love myself
I think I'm grand
When I go to the movies
I hold my hand
I put my arm around my waist
And when I get mad
I slap my face!

Luv ya tonite,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

[BikeWriter]

37. It's just the particular form of the recording...

I'm not familiar with the differences in them.

[Radio_Lady]

43. See above. Rabrrrrr enlightened all of us. Praise him!

One of the people I worked with in Boston was a fellow named Jim Cutler. That's when I was the Radio Advertising Manager for LoJack Corporation.

Jim is a superb announcer and does lots of work for ESPN, radio and TV stations, individual TV producers, etc. He's now in the New York City area and doing well, I understand. Visit him at www.jimcutler.com

I remember in 1995 when he took me to his studio to do some announcing work. He showed me how sound was being digitally manipulated with computer traces you could see on a monitor. Now, I don't come from the Stone Age, and really didn't know Thomas Alva Edison personally and have never used his wax cylinders! However, the computer age came in when I was well along in broadcasting. Much of it is new and very technical.

I do run the board for my own audio show, which is still recorded on MD-80 disks, with two mikes and a telephone line. Duck soup, as long as nothing is going wrong. However, I'll never be an audio engineer.

In peace,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

[Benfea]

22. I always look at couples like that.

However, probably for different reasons than most. You see, I'm half Japanese and my cousins are half black. When I look, I mostly think "That's becoming so much more common than in my parents' day, and they're taking a lot less shit than my aunt and uncle did."

If the couple sees me staring, they can usually figure out for themselves that I'm mixed race. If not, I'm not shy about explaining it. ;)

[MarianJack]

25. Up Here In 97% White Maine,...

...I don't think our family gets noticed too much, but when we went to Philly last Thanksgiving, I realized HOW MUCH I miss being around African American people.

As a person in an inter-racial relationship, I'm not offended by your musical choice. I think it's funny!

[bliss_eternal]

30. Hi MarianJack!

:hi:

[MarianJack]

38. Hi, Back at'cha bliss_eternal!

:headbang:

[Ellen Forradalom]

40. In northern Wisconsin

my mother's church has one, count 'em, one African-American member. As a South Side Chicagoan, she always makes the church feel more like home :-) .

[Heidi]

26. I'm whistling Patsy Cline's "Crazy"

as I type this. :D

[bliss_eternal]

34. LOL! LOL!

:rofl:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

32. It could have been worse...

I once accidentally made a comment about numbering Jewish people. As I was saying it, I realized what I said and felt horrible. Fortunately, I was with only one person and she knows that I'm not anti-Semitic.

[Kire]

44. now you're with 85,649 people

and we know you're a raving neo-nazi :sarcasm:

[bliss_eternal]

33. Oh almost forgot--

where are you anyway? (If I may ask, and you don't mind sharing--if you don't want to, I'll understand).

If that's rare or an oddity where you are, I don't want to go there--so I'd kinda' like to know on that basis. ;)