The community clubhouse, gym, and pool for Riviera Alta are only about half a block away. Since the weather has warmed up considerably, so has the pool--which is heated also by solar panels, currently at the temperature of 91 F, just the way I like it! Anyway, we've taken advantage of the facility recently. Bob has been using the stationary recumbent bike to strengthen his leg muscles, then joining me by the pool where he swims a couple of laps, increasing every day. (Yay, Bob!)
Yesterday while Bob was biking inside, I relaxed under an umbrella by the pool to read a little. A young couple were there with their very young children (maybe 3 and &). Daddy was in pool in giving very loud directions and encouragement to the kids. Then another couple who were sunning climbed into the pool to cool off and swim. Conversation ensued (again, quite loud) and they exchanged where they were from--the young couple from Vancouver (which they pronounce something like "Vancyouver, " the other couple from Ontario (where I think 9 out of 10 Canadians down here are from; sometimes they say more specifically "Trano," translated to the city most of know as Toronto.) Anyway, the strangest conversation ensued as they played the game of who do you know in Vancouver:
"Oh, my brother lives there."
"Oh, yah? Where?"
"Surrey."
"Oh, we have lots of friends who live there. They like it, eh? What does he do?
"Oh, he's a "gooey-duck" diver."
"Oh, yah? I know somebody who does blah-blah-blah....." also related to :gooey-ducks.
So, by now, I've given up reading because the loud voices are so distracting and I'm amusing myself listening to the accents so like the ones that people imitate and make fun of. But at the word "gooey-duck," I began to pay closer attention. What in the world are gooey-ducks and why do you have to dive for them? They mentioned growing vegetation on the ocean floor to improve their habitat. I'm thinking, that makes sense, but ducks don't dive that deep, why do humans have to?
Thoroughly mystified, I recounted the bits of conversation I had overheard when Bob came out to join me. We joked a bit about the Canadian stereotypes, and I puzzled over how I would look these ducks up since I only had a phonetic spelling in my mind. Nevertheless, as soon as we got home, I went straight to my buddy Google and typed in
What is a gooey-duck?
Be my guest. Hint: it doesn't have web feet and go "Quack, Quack."
6 comments:
That's kind of gross. I think you need to add a warning. "Beware - picture of someone's intestine ahead!"
thank God I looked at Z's comment before I clicked the link! Now I know not to! Love the post title, though.
You're welcome.
It's not intestines. It's a clam.
Yes, Mom, we read the article. But it LOOKS like someone's intestine.
Yes, it doesn. Maybe that's why they call them "gooey" ducks. :)
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