Sunday, July 18, 2021

Answer to Pamela's Question

Pamela left a question on an old post of mine, wondering about the never-explained title of "Oh, vat vader" I had given that post. The answer to that is, unsurprisingly, that it came out of a book. Specifically, Anne Lamott's book on writing, Bird by Bird.

In a section on dialog, she writes of hearing someone say it:
This may have resonated with me due to having older Scandinavian relatives, because I could definitely 'hear' it in one of their voices. But in any case, that's all it is: "Oh, what weather."

On a side note, goodness, how I disliked commuting into Boston for work! I am so not a city person.

1 comment:

  1. I had to drive my husband to Logan Airport a few times while we lived in New Hampshire. Boston is built on old cow paths--and the drivers were rated some of the worst in the country at the time by I forget which organization, just that I agreed with them. There was still the national speed limit of 55, and doing 65, 70, I was literally run off the road by the aggressive speeders, with a crying hungry baby in the back seat. It made for a lasting memory of Boston.

    On the other hand, my cousin lived in Belmont, and that was a gorgeous neighborhood. So there was at least some balance to the freeway impression.

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