The best thing I ever learned to do...

Perhaps the only cartoon I absolutely loath and cannot even watch through ten minutes is Disney's Snow White. Which is a shame because the animation is truly artistic and groundbreaking. But I cannot stomach more than a line of Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White.

However, I have not always been aware that I hated the singing, but rather hated the poor, innocent film for another reason altogether, and one infinitely less logical. The song "Whistle While you Work" has always reminded me of something I could never do, which is of course whistle. When I was four years old and had to do the dishes or pick up 20 tons of Lego's, it was always my goal for it not to take forever but it always did, take forever I mean. I probably took me eight months alone to put all the Lego's away.

So for a song to make the promise that whistling while working could make to time go by faster was everything I longed for. From that time on I have practiced whistling with very little success. I think around age twelve I could make a very low whistle, much like a fog horn but very quiet. Maybe more like a dead car horn. The dead car whistle had to get me trough the next ten or so years. I'm sure people would have poked fun of my wimpy whistle--if only they could have heard it.

Then came the horrible day when I discovered I could no longer do the dead car whistle. It was like losing a small hamster friend that didn't do much but was always there when you needed it. My suffering was acute and I can't remember how long I went completely whistle-less. But on another quite ordinary day, I discovered I could whistle real notes--that other people could hear! I was quite astounded and practiced a bit 'till I could show Alex. I don't know if he was amazed as I was, but let me tell you, it has been the greatest discovery of my life . All you whistlers from childhood don't know how truly amazing whistling is, how it can make you happy on a rainy day and all the other poetic claptrap people say about whistling. It is all true! It makes work go by faster and annoys everyone around you as a bonus!

My next whistling adventure is to learn how to whistle for a dog, which my current whistle doesn't quite have the stamina for.

P.S. If you've ever wanted to do really truly do something, don't give up! If I can learn to whistle at 23 you can learn to repair record players, or whatever ...