The Universal Language

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The Universal Language!

This is basically a true story, in that it happened to me many years ago. I was young and used to work in a factory that made all kinds of shirts. (T-shirts, football shirts, baseball and hockey shirts). A lot of Italian people worked there. I, myself, am not Italian. I knew very few words of the language but could not speak in Italian.   

Now there was a new lady that had just started working in the factory. I cannot remember her name so I will call her Angelina for this storyline because she was an angel in my life. Angelina was an older woman and was fully Italian. She did not speak a lick of English. Unfortunately, she had been living in South America for several years with a very abusive husband. She had a strong South American accent. After her husband tried to kill her Angelina fled back to the United States to stay with some of her kin folks.  

Having the strong accent interfered with being able to train her for the sewing position she needed to learn. The Italian women could not understand Angelina’s Italian because of the South American accent. Of course, Angelina couldn’t understand them because this was the first time she had been home in many years. Everyone got very frustrated for quite a while until Angelina grasped onto the training. I really have no idea how they finally succeeded but I felt good knowing that they did. I assume they must have just showed her what to do instead of trying to tell her.  

One evening, after work I needed to go to the grocer store. It was about a mile downhill from the factory. Just happened to be that Angelina lived nearby the store. We were both walking in the same direction so we walked together. This is where the universal language comes in. Verbally, we could not understand each other too good but both of us understood a friendly wave and a smile, though. I understood just enough Italian words to almost translate simple words. So we walked together down the small hill.  

She started talking and with hand gestures while she said the word “mudor”. I figured she was asking about the short woman who had brought me lunch earlier that day because Angelina gestured short when she said Mudor. I don’t know if I spelled that correctly but I knew she was asking me if that was my mother. I nodded yes. Then she pointed down the hill and hand gestured pushing a grocery cart, asking if I was going to the store. I laughed lightly and nodded yes again. I tried to say groceries and she nodded yes that she understood.  

Just before we got to the store Angelina pointed at a small Italian meat market. She then tapped her chest and then pointed at the meat market, saying “bruder”. I assumed she told me that was her brother’s meat market.  

I said, “Your brother’s store?”

She smiled and nodded yes. Then she pointed at his store, then her purse and then moved her hand downward.

I said, “Oh, he has lower prices.”

She nodded.

Through a lot of hand gestures and common sense, we talked in our own way. She then pointed toward an apartment above the brother’s store and waved goodbye. That was easy to understand that she was telling me that was her apartment and of course, she was waving goodbye. 

We always waved to each other when we saw each other at work. Angelina always had a warm smile. The women in the factory were really bothered that it looked like we were talking on the way down the hill. They evidently saw us walking but did not offer a ride. I guess it was easier to look and gossip. I only said that we were talking and kept going. I just left them wondering. It felt good to let them know that communicating was not all that hard to do. I think if the had not been so rushed to train Angelina and not been so frustrated, she would have learned faster. The more frustrated they got only made them a little more aggravated. That in turn upset Angelina. The entire language barrier, in my opinion, could have been almost eliminated had they not rushed and gotten frustrated.

There used to be a commercial on TV where many different people were holding hands and singing, “I’d like to teach the world to sing”. Throughout it all, it would be great if the whole world could learn the universal language and use a lot more common sense. I made a good friend for a while. I soon joined the military and left town but I have always wished there was a way to get all nations to learn to accept each other. The world needs to find the Lord!  

For me, my way of communicating is with arts and crafts. I love to take things from nature and turn them into art projects. I use pine cones, chestnut hulls, magnolia seed pods, sycamore seed pods and so on. I can create many different things from things from nature. I love the beach because I can do a lot with sand and shells. I have found that making fancy craft gifts, pleases people. I have gotten many smiles from lots of friends and strangers from giving the gifts. Some people were only acquaintances not friend and the still smiled.   

What does this have to do with the universal language, you ask? Well to put a smile on someone’s face is my goal. I guess my thought is that language does not have to be verbal. You can do so much with just a smile. I once made an entire nativity scene out of magnolia seed pods for a friend. She had been there for me when I went through having cancer. She, too, had been through the same cancer and understood what I was going through. She didn’t have to explain herself. All she needed to say was that she had been there and to call if I needed her. I never needed to call but her kindness was more than words could speak. The universal language of kindness, pleasant gestures, a smile or a wave can do so much for others.  

I said pleasant gestures due to the fact that one can show love and kindness or hatred and meanest with gestures. My mother only had to give us “that look” that only a mother can do and we knew what it meant. She could keep us kids in line with that one look. Even a dog or a cat can tell if a person is kind or mean by their actions. I was taught as a child that actions speak louder than words. 

I once had a horse that belonged to my brother that would do whatever I asked him to do. My cousin tried to get the same horse to co-operate and he wouldn’t. I have found out so much over the years about reaching out to people even if you cannot speak their language. My oldest son could reach his hand out to butterflies and tell them to come to him and they would land on him. My daughter can never meet a dog she can’t pet. She has been known to pet several guard dogs that were labeled as vicious.  

I owe a lot to meeting a South American Italian woman. She taught me the universal language of communicating past not understanding another’s verbal language is so easy. That episode of my life happened when I was about twenty three years old. Now I am seventy one. It all seems so long ago but I remember it as though it happened last week. I can still picture Angelina in my mind. Still cannot remember her real name but I will always remember our universal language that we used on our short walk down that hill. Be kind to others and it will come back to you!