Secretly, I’ve always kinda thought that a talking bear would be cool. Bears have so much wisdom to impart to us, having grown up as bears rather than humans. It’s like growing up in a foreign country, except…they’re bears. And they will have grown up in human society. Imagine the tales of virtue and perseverance through discrimination, and the great wisdom that humanity can glean from such an experience.
But bears can’t talk, so it’s all pointless. Instead, we must turn our attention to the language of the machines. Now THAT is something that could actually bear some fruit! I’ve been hanging around the docks recently, trying to observe people at work doing all sorts of things. Mainly, outboard motor repairs. Melbourne, a port city, has a ton of history in the boating industry, and it continues to this day. And as we all know, boats are the oldest form of vehicles. They’ve seen it all, but only recently have we fitted them with motors so that they can talk to us.
That should be the ultimate kindness- imagine being a wooden boat for thousands of years and not being able to complain about anything- but we’ve made no effort to understand what boats are saying. I’m sure they appreciate all the motor repairs and servicing, and some people really love their boats so they take good care of them. Still, it’s like your dog just constantly chatting to you while you’re brushing their fur, and it’s clearly trying to tell you something, but you just ignore them. Just think it’d be nice for the boats if we made an effort.
Of course, when boats come in for motor repair, they often don’t sound too great. Probably most of what’s being said is ‘could I get some repairs? There’s obviously something wrong.’
Though perhaps the most efficient outboard motor servicing Melbourne has to offer could be much better served by people understanding when their boat needs to be serviced. See, learning new languages actually does have practical uses, especially if you’re a boat person and you use them all the time. Save money, AND be kind to the voiceless.
-Kaze