Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Pucker Up and Blow

That is not what Lauren Bacall said to Humphery Bogart in "To Have and Have Not".  What she said was: "You know you don't have to act with me, Steve.  You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything.  Not a thing.  Oh, maybe just whistle.  You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?.  You just put your lips together and blow."

This winter, I decided to learn to whistle.  Not the easy-go-lucky whistle that most people can do.  I wanted the turn-their-heads whistle that you can hear over even thunderous applause.  I had believed that the skills required were innate or possibly passed only to a chosen few selected at random in their early teens.  Like others who have great respect for the web, I turned to Google and discovered step by step instructions assuring me that I would be a whistling fool in a few weeks.  Starting at step one: "Tuck away your lips" you know you are following a carefully thought-through path.  Be sure you have a mirror handy so you know when you have successfully completed step two: "Draw back the tongue."  Don't give up. 

There are many useful applications of an ear-piercing whistle.  Let me know when yours is ready.

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