Bert: reminds me of my grandma who deliberatly would reach inside her dress and turn down her very old-fashioned (nowadays) hearing aid, just so she could plead ignorance of what someone said!

I have a hard time getting my American of French Canadian descent (being very PC here)hubby to answer in any language. Being an engineer of the ethers, his head is always in the clouds. I swear he lives in other realms of microwaves (not the oven variety), field strength analysers (not for checking one's stamina on tour), and various other esoteric machinations of the world of radio and television waves (not found on a beach)!

Steve: I've a new one to add to the NOI I coined, yes I'm bragging: NOT for No Offense Taken! That's right, I am calling here and now, for all Mudcateers to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their own feelings and reactions! That's right you can take charge! Let others know their NOI slings and arrows MISSED the target. Use the NOT! Why NOT?***BG***

So, Steve: NOT! from katlaughing!

As for accents, I've always imagined if I ever got to the other side of the water, I'd do everything I could to not sound American! I guess that comes from growing up in the 60's and hearing so much about the "ugly American". Plus, having inherited my grandfather's gift for accents, I've also really tuned my ear to tell the difference between, oh, say, people from the Land of Oz NOI and Englishpersons (PC, again!) I love accents and I love trying to guess where they are from, almost as much as I love trying to adopt them as my own from time to time.

When I was a kid, I used a Scottish accent (authentic, mind) so much, when a girl scout from another troop called one day she asked me where in Scotland I was from! My family used to joke about what I'd sound like that night at the dinner table. Maybe I was a chameleon in a past life?

Pete M: "my other half" is all French in that respect! Cela vie(sp?), eh?!