What's in a Name?

Yesterday's dinner just happened to be with my folks. We had something I had never had before, apparently called Cuban sandwiches. They were made with a thick, heavy bread and had sliced roasted pork with a little jerk seasoning, ham, Swiss cheese and sweet pickles. To die from. For, I mean. Which put me in mind of the last couple days of my oh-so- thrilling job at work. I work in a call center, in the financial services sector, so there's always something new. I've had, over the past two days, two complaints about the automated touch-tone phone system. The people I spoke to took it as a personal offense (I'm not exaggerating) that the system had an option to hear everything in Spanish. (Press 2 for Spanish- that kind of thing). They said that English, being the official language of the US, should be the only option available. I myself have several ideas on this, but I'll try and keep it brief. First off, what is an official language? I was not aware we had one. And if so, what does that mean? That no one can speak anything else? That seems too silly to give any serious response to. Now it is true, that English is the most commonly spoken language in the States, although us barbarous Americans have been less than kind to our mother tongue.
Granted, if I were to go to Italy, I would probably have an easier time if I spoke Italian, but if I had the option of communicating in English, my first language, I would probably take it for ease of use. And since there are a great many people in the US who can speak Spanish much easier than anything else, this may well make it easier for them to use the system. So it does make sense solely from a business standpoint- make it easier for your customer to do business with you. (I'm deliberately leaving off any type of sociocultural commentary here, as I don't really feel I know enough to make a comment on that). If there were a large number of French-speaking persons, no doubt the phone menu would offer an option for French as well.
Irregardless of what culture a person is from, if it's easier for you to speak Spanish, and you have the option, then go for it, if it makes things that much easier. We're all in it together.

Day of the Dead

Quite a shock-

Little did I

expect them, their

festivities

The hordes of skeletons, their

flesh picked clean from

chalk-white bones, or

crumbled to dust

Now dressed up, now

leaping, full of

new life and old tradition

The women, clad

in brightly colored

dresses and silks, their

grinning skulls strangely

beautiful- up they

go to dance with

their fellows in

handsome black and

broad-brimmed hats,

their bony fingers

pluck the strings of guitars

Are these men

showing so many teeth

Laughing with their

Ladies, as they all

dance, jump, sing

And I am

remembering their

own lives