"No toca nada"

When I was in school (and some afterward), I studied French. Languages are not my strong suit, but I can get by if necessary. The rest of my family has learned and continues to learn Spanish. As many of you know, there is some overlap between French, Spanish, and English, but I am often in the dark about the meaning of certain Spanish phrases. For those of you who find yourself in the same situation, I give you "No toca nada" ... roughly "Don't touch nothing" ... of course, we would say "Don't touch anything." With that defined, here's our story.

Back last November, we had occasion to be with David's family in New Hampshire following the death of his grandmother. For those of you who don't know, getting together with David's family is quite an event with parents, 10 brothers and sisters, and uncles/aunts/cousins. David's uncle arranged lodging and transportation for everyone while we were there. Transportation included borrowing Uncle Tim's vehicles, and vehicles from his friends as well. It was a true act of trust! Our vehicle was Uncle Tim's truck. Inside were various items that all men with pickup trucks seem to have ... papers, maps, tools, flashlights, etc. ... personal items. Nathan was 2 1/2 at the time, sitting in a car seat in the middle of the back seat. He loves riding in pickup trucks! David was driving, and David's brother Michael (17 at the time) was sitting in the passenger seat.

As we all know, it is sometimes hard to just sit when there are so many interesting things in the nooks and crannies of someone else's vehicle, so Michael began exploring. He was picking things up ... looking at them ... putting them back ... looking at something else ... you know how it goes. After a minute or two of this exploration, Nathan said, "Uncle Michael, no toca nada!" Don't touch nothing! Michael's response? When an English-speaking 2 year old tells you what to do in a foreign language, you'd better listen!