My Dad was not a short Asian man. I know there's truth to that stereotype, and I also know of exceptions — like him, which he'd pass onto me. My Dad was also a macho man, not in the hairy sense, but in the "take a nasty fall off a ladder and insist you still have work to get done"-way. I remember it vividly, he had blood coming from his forehead like one of Sylar's victims, and still he shrugged it off. Liver cirrhosis, not of drinking as he rarely imbibed but of Hepatitis C complications, felled him at last.
But rewind to when I was about 4 feet, and my little bro and I were helping Dad move some stuff lakeside. After a round of what I'd deem "hard work", he insisted we sit down and "crunch our thirst". I had no idea what this meant, but would repeat it for sometime later. While downing my grape juice — which has never been a fave flavor, but did infact "crunch my thirst" — I thought about what that meant.
As the years went by and I became familiar with more English expressions, I became awkwardly aware of how many my Dad had absorbed and spit out in a comically bastardized way. Instead of saying "You're not savvy", he'd declare "You no saveh!" I asked him where he'd learned this from, and he mentioned it was an Indian (aboriginal, not East) friend of his. When he'd get mad, he had a special gift for mangling profanities too. "Shit you!" he'd shout, apparently not knowing the F-word usually goes there. And due to his ability speak 2 languages but 1 better than the other, long words became clever contractions: we didn't ever say "African-American", it was "Afrerican". Which I believe is the better portmanteau to this day.
And then came the moment for me to learn that it wasn't usually "crunch your thirst" after all: it was "quench your thirst". Which is almost as pseudo-onomatopoeic as "slake".
To this day, whenever I drink something particularly satisfying, I see my Dad appear in my head as Mufasa popped up in the clouds of The Lion King, imploring me:
"Crunch your thirst."
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
It's always unusual which slices we remember from our childhood.
That should be the slogan for Torley-brand watermelon juice.
Wonderful story. ^_^
@Gigs I almost said that out loud while watching Heroes as Sylar discovers his past!
@Daisy Therein lies marketing genius!
Wow. That was one of the nicest things written about a man's father I have read in a long time. Takes a good son Torley to write something so loving.
@Ancient1 Thank you. My Dad was a man of action; from him, I learned how to get things done without overthinking. And to feel so very alive.