It started with "cool." "That's cool, my son." Okay. Harmless. Dated, but harmless. Then it escalated. "That outfit is slaying." "Daddy, please." "No, I mean it. You are slaying. Like a queen. A slay queen." "Daddy, stop." But he cannot stop. He has discovered language. He has discovered that words evolve. He has discovered that he can be "hip." He is not hip. He is a man in his 60s saying "no cap" with the confidence of someone who has never used "cap" in any context. And the attempts! "It's giving... what is it giving? I don't understand what it's giving." "That food is bussin', my dear." "Daddy, 'bussin' is for young people." "I am young at heart!" The heart is young. The slang is old. The combination is catastrophic. The worst was "vibes on vibes." He used it at a family meeting. To describe his retirement plan. "My pension is vibes on vibes." The children laughed. The elders were confused. The meeting was derailed for twenty minutes while someone explained that "vibes" is not a financial instrument. But the joy! He is trying. He is connecting. He is learning our language, even if he speaks it with the grace of a toddler. The effort is love. The execution is comedy. The memory is permanent. Has your father tried modern slang? And what's the most devastating attempt you've witnessed?
