colorful country

Here in the far-off land in which I find myself, there are bizarre manners of communication that I am starting to grow accustomed to. This evening one of the dining hall staff was conversing with my table and made a comment that made me request a repeat, slow enough for me to write down the expression he used. At one point in my life I may have been able to remember it readily enough without the scribble but these days I don’t have full confidence in my memory, even when it comes to the words that so naturally run through my wordy brain :-) Anyhow, this is what he said, as he directed me to the nearest Post Office, warning me to steer clear of one street that would be “busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” He later added to the expression, with an alternative of, “busier than a one-armed paper hanger.” This second one had me quite perplexed until it donned on me that the “paper” in question was otherwise known as “wallpaper.” Yes, language here in far-off country is a colorful one–and happily, so was tonight’s sunset :-)