I am fluent in English, I was fluent in ASL (American Sign Language for the deaf), and pretty good in written French but I struggle with verbal French. My wife, daughter and son-in-law are all three Chinese and speak mostly Mandarin. I know enough to say hello, good bye, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, I love you, kiss me, hug me, come here, go there, quickly, my butt, your butt and I hate you. Oh, and I can count to four.

I absolutely love to listen to anyone speak French (or English with a French accent), Mandarin (or English with a Mandarin accent) and an Irish brogue is a killer. The actress Marlee Matlin is deaf but can speak. To hear her accent is beautiful to my ears.

You've read my silly escapade with French. Occasionally though, in a store or on the elevator, some Chinese people will be yammering away assuming I do not understand a word they are saying. Which, of course, I don't. But when they see me smile at them and I tell them good bye in Mandarin as I leave, their eyes open wide.

The only other silly escapade with foreign languages was about 5 or so years ago, I was on the subway and a man and woman were sitting across from me and just yammering away in ASL; at least one of them was deaf. Idle curiosity got the best of me so I watched. They were gossiping about the college courses they were taking. Many of their specialized signs went beyond me. Soon, they began planning their evening and things got a bit steamy with what they were saying. I tried to look away but their hand movements drew my attention constantly. For three or four stops, they got more and more descriptive about what they were planning. Finally, I got frustrated, stood to take an early stop but turned to them and complained, "Excuse me, both of you, but I didn't need to see all your plans." I left the train as they sat there staring at me.