Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You!

Well, never one to point out the glaringly obvious…

Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You!

WordPress, for those of you who don’t know, hosts a challenge whereby all bloggers get given the task of writing about specific topics. You write about it how you wish, but you stick to the topic. It’s called the Daily Prompt and it’s designed to get your creative juices flowing, get you thinking differently and writing about a range of subjects.

Ordinarily, the Daily Prompt wouldn’t be suitable for this blog, but then I came across this one and it fit perfectly, hence why I’m blogging about it now instead of going to bed like Mr AWTD has encouraged me to do. Sorry Mr AWTD.

The challenge is thus:

You get to choose one superpower. Pick one of these, and explain your choice:

• the ability to speak and understand any language
• the ability to travel through time
• the ability to make any two people agree with each other

I choose the ability to speak and understand any language and this is also the reason why it is absolute, 100% perfect for this blog.

Which crew member, partner, ATCO (that’s Air Traffic Controller for the non-in-the-knowers out there), ground crew and any other aviation related member of staff would not choose to be able to converse and understand any language?! Imagine that! How beneficial would it be to life to be able to speak every single language known to man? This is coming from someone who, though speaks English fluently, German…yeaaah, a little bit and French, hmmmm, I can count to trente-neuf (that was vignt-cinq but then I realised I could push myself a bit further) I could never hold a decent conversation in any other language and, in fact, feel entirely embarrassed when I rely on other people to actually know my language. You know, I really should have made more of an effort. So, now I just dream of being bilingual and let my fingers skim over the myriad of iPad apps I’ve downloaded because, I have to face it, I still can’t be bothered.

You know, I’d totally keep it a secret. If I had a superpower that meant I could speak every single language going, I wouldn’t tell a soul. I’d let them have their conversations, all the while thinking I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. I’d feign that wandering eye look, pretend I was interested in the split end I’d suddenly found in my hair but my ears would be on red alert, waiting for them to say something where I could catch them out, still without letting on that I knew – I’d really freak them out!

“Hello Mr Car Salesman, I’d really like to buy a red car, a blue car or a white car. My budget is $5000. What do you have?”

“Hello Mrs AWTD. We have those colour cars, but none of them are as low in price as $5000 I’m afraid. They’re at least $10,000 each. Would you like to buy one?”

“Well, that is above my price range by a lot of money. Are you sure there isn’t anything closer to my budget?”

“One second Ma’am, I’ll check with my colleague”.

Shuffles off to check with his colleague, who is close by and has a chat in a language I can understand because I have my superpower. Normally, I wouldn’t understand this language because it’s called BS, but today I can smell it from a mile off.

Whispers to his colleague in BS, “I told that customer who wants a red, blue or white car that none of them are available for $5000 – haha! Dead cert here! She has no idea what she’s doing if she’s only talking about red, white or blue cars! I mean, doesn’t she even think to ask about engine capacity, bhp, torque and fuel consumption? So, I’m not even going to offer her the cars available at $3000 that would be perfect for her – I’m going in for the kill at $10,000, ok?”

Back he comes.

“Sorry Ma’am, we have nothing available below $10,000. Which car would you like to test drive?”

“None. Do you have anything for around $3000 instead?”

“Huh?”

Clearly, having multiple languages under your belt would have much better uses than that, like, for instance, listening in to arguments – brilliant! – but, more seriously speaking, in a work environment such as aviation, could have a massive impact on how you handle different cultures, how you are perceived in your role, how communications are managed and also how the pilots handle ATC in many different countries. Language barriers are a difficult entity to manage at the best of times let alone in a high pressurised environment.

So yes, that’s my super power and I’m envious of the people who are already on their way to having it – hats off to them and mantenere il buon lavoro!

Have a read of other blogs who have taken part in this challenge:

1. Autumn invitation | Musings from a practical mystic
2. What Were You Doing 50 Years Ago, The Day Kennedy Was Assassinated? | The Jittery Goat
3. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You! | Under the Monkey Tree
4. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You! « cognitive reflection
5. Daily Prompt : A Talking Bird, I am Super Polyglot! | bambangpriantono
6. Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This
7. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You! | Taking time, making time
8. God, Witch, or Whore | sayanything
9. Hello Daily Prompt! | Misifusa’s Blog
10. Power | Hope* the happy hugger
11. power | yi-ching lin photography
12. No Regrets | All work and quite a lot of play
13. Superpower | cowcrzy
14. Daily Prompt: Do You Understand the Words? | UP! With Jesus
15. Punch Drunk | Good2begone
16. “Powah” | Relax
17. ME? | thinkerscap
18. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You! | unknowinglee
19. Superpowerless | Finale to an Entrance
20. The Time-Travelling Hippie | Kate Murray
21. Where In Time Is The Mountain Man?! | Mountains or Molehills
22. My Choice | Flowers and Breezes
23. Become Humane First | crookedeyebrows
24. Daily Post: My Time Traveling Do-Overs | Mine to Do Over
25. Love to Travel_Through Time..!! | amateurxpress
26. The time-travelling polyglot mediator | vicariously in love with you
27. Alarm | Charron’s Chatter
28. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You | September Magic
29. Abuela (A Sonnet) | Fleet Ink
30. Let it be | LynnSlyWrites
31. Daily Prompt: A bird, A Plane, You! | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
32. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You! | reyoflight
33. 5 Reasons why I want the ability to speak any language | Processing the life
34. Power | Kansa Muse
35. Puppy Power! | Haiku By Ku
36. Avoiding Mt. Fluency 101 | AstridOxford
37. Knowing When To Walk Away And When To Run | Just Visiting This Planet
38. The Warring Souls Within – Good Girl v. Bad Girl | A Buick in the Land of Lexus
39. The Time Traveller | Braised Pork on Rice
40. A Plane Lands Just… in Time for a New Future Where We All Agree and Speak The Same Language | An Upturned Soul
41. GOOD ADVICE FOR ELSEWHEN TRAVELERS | SERENDIPITY
42. Daily Prompt: A Bird, A Plane, You! | From Slacker To Scribe
43. Daily Prompt: A Bird, A Plane, You! | L’S THOUGHTS….
44. A Bird, a Plane, You! | The Nameless One
45. DP: A Bird, a Plane, You! Speaking without words | aliabbasali
46. Daily Prompt: A Bird, A Plane, and You | Not The Sword But The Pen
47. Daily Prompt: Bleed (A Nonnet) | Morrighan’s Muse
48. Mixing it up with The Ungulates | The Land Slide Photography
49. Daily Prompt: A Bird, A Plane, You | Dreams Will Catch You
50. Lipstick and Lithium
51. A tough choice . . . | Rob’s Surf Report
52. Shit that’s a toughy! | djgarcia94
53. A Bird, a Plane and, You! | Lead us from the Unreal to the Real
54. Super Powers | not4faintheartsblog
55. Lights Off, Headphones On | Daily Prompt | Word Disorder
56. Dezelfde taal spreken | autitekst
57. Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, YOU! | lifebeinggirly
58. Time Travel | Life Confusions
59. Daily Prompt: My Superpower | SIM | ANTICS
60. NaBloPoMo: Lingual Noesis | The Joyful Soul
61. Super Me! [Daily Prompt: A Bird, a Plane, You!] | Potpourri Adventures
62. Superpower of Choice | To My Wonderland
63. theanonymousqueen
64. DailyPrompt – my superpower | viver para contar
65. Worldpeace in Progress | I am Lynn