Relative Something

When no intended meaning is applied to the assembly of words and phrases conjured from the empty cavern of an idle mind… this is the kind of outcome that might result:

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one more photo
this and that
frick and frack
a thousand pin pricks
partially intact
sounds swirling
soaring
effortlessly advanced
lied about incessantly
never given a chance
happening rather fast
captured there on video
in the absence of a plan
echoing reality
in fading light
waving everybody off
with nary a casual glance

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It may, or may not, stand on its own as a work of poetry, but if these words were lyrics of a song and surrounded or augmented with an interesting melody and enticing instrumentation, the words in all their obscurity could be granted a completely different essence.

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When there is a sudden, unexpected loud sound, [BANG!] it is common to hear the response, “That scared me!” I find myself preferring to say that it startled me. I’m not scared that there was a loud bang, but I wasn’t expecting it. When it is a person who suddenly appears when you didn’t expect, wouldn’t it be nicer to tell them you were startled, not scared by them?

Now, if it is a demogorgon that startles you, then it would be better to say that it scared you!

Words.

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There are two responses that Cyndie and I have noticed are commonly used in text communication with those who have grown up with smartphones.

“No problem.” At first, it seems like a perfect informal acknowledgement, but when it is the same response to a range of different texts back and forth, it starts to come across as lacking. The ones who are quick to produce a silly meme GIF get a pass.

“No worries.” I wasn’t worried. I was just clarifying. Don’t scare me like that.

Are you implying I am old? Why in my day… our elders taught a required phone etiquette. I remember feeling awkward after our kids got old enough to have friends over, and I was addressed as “Mr. Hays” by one of them. Seemed way too formal. It got easier when Elysa and Julian got into soccer, and kids could call me “Coach.”

It did seem wrong to let them call me John. I was always happy to be addressed as “Elysa’s Dad” or “Julian’s Dad.” Yeah, that’s me.

I suffered when trying to correct Julian’s choice of “me and my friends” over “my friends and I” only to be informed that he knew the proper usage, but that’s not the way the kids talk with each other, and it would sound out of place among them.

Cue the “Music Man” scene… “Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like “swell” and “so’s your old man?”

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