I was at lunch with Maddie and Bernard when Bernard suggested to Maddie that I might be able to help her with her iPhone.
"She's having trouble loading songs," he told me.
"What kind of trouble?" I asked.
"Well, I got it to work, but it ... well I just pictured it as different."
"May I see it," I asked. I took it in my hands. It is a beautiful piece of hardware ... software ... art, whatever it is. "How many songs do you have loaded," I asked her.
"Only about 12," she said. "It takes a long time."
"Are you getting songs from iTunes or CDs?" I asked.
"Huh?" She gave me a blank look
Curious, I put in the ear buds and navigated to the songs. There were 11 and the titles included "i get kicked out of you." No artist was listed, just the song title. Wondering if it was Sinatra, I played the tune. After an uncharacteristically long silence, I heard someone clear their throat. And then I heard a humming before Maddie's warbling, but admirably clear voice began to sing acapella. "I get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all," she sang.
"Maddie," I turned to her. "You do know that you don't have to load songs into this iPhone by singing, right?"
She looked sweetly at me. "Oh, I know that," she smiled. "But my turntable is broken."
"Of course," I mumbled. "Well, the quality is quite impressive," I said. "You have a nice voice."
"Yes. They were so clever to combine a phone and a microphone," she said. "I can see why everyone raves about how well engineered it is." She smiled. "Maybe you'd like to sing a song into it?" she asked.
"Maddie," I said, "I do get a kick out of you."
She beamed and punched me playfully in the arm. "Of course you do," she said. "You're not a complete idiot."
6 comments:
I'm thinking of Bernard and Maddie as this century's Lazarus Long, interspersed in the longer work, emphasising the arguments.
Dave,
Thank you. I had to look up L. Long. I'm flattered to have Maddie and Bernard likened to them.
I looked it up too, Dave...very apt description of Maddie and Bernard. Next year, perhaps Maddie tries out for American Idol having developed some confidence in her recorded voice via her iPhone. And Bernard is the sitting judge who replaces Paula Abdul after her complete and utter mental breakdown. I have no doubt that he has some infinite wisdom to impart to the Idol finalists.
Another question: Is Maddie like Bernard Ron? Also, Cce, did Paula have another breakdown? I haven't been watching Idol.
It was a sweet post.
I will laugh at this thought every time I pick up my iphone...so sweet!
cce,
I love the idea of Bernard as judge. He's a little hard of hearing. He might repeatedly (and clumsily) cover the mic and ask one of the other judges, "What did she just sing? How did she sound?"
G@H,
Maddie is Bernard's sister. She is not particularly bright when it comes to politics or technology, but as it turns out, she's more savvy about matters of the heart than her brother.
hrh,
I'm glad I've managed to undermine the awe factor of an iPhone, even if by just a little bit.
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