Wordy.

Colleen posted seven of her favorite words and asked commenter to do the same. I had to think about it for a few minutes, even though I knew right away what four of them would be.

1. peace
   
2. grace
   
3. lazy
   
4. blessed (but pronounced bless-ed)
   
5. grackle
   
6. Phillip
   
7. cherry (especially when followed by “red”)

But I don’t think I could tell you why I like these particular words. Mostly it’s the way they sound and the way they feel when you say them. Peace, grace, lazy and blessed all share sibilant sounds…well, actually, is “z” a sibilant? I don’t know, Brenda will know but I am pretty sure it is. Grackle is just fun to say. Grackle, grackle, grackle! And Phillip? I cannot explain Phillip. It’s the name I give to anything that doesn’t have a name. I think I particularly like the plosive “p”. Cherry…cherry, that one is more about visuals than linguistics. I love the phrase “cherry red” which I realized first when listening to an ‘80’s song called “Midnight Blue” sung by Lou Graham. I confirmed my love for that later when I realized that Mick sings that his favorite flavor is “Cherry Red” in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (You’ll remember that he and Mr. Jimmy decided that they would have a soda…).

I do love words, and I do love complicated and over the top words, but my favorites are all pretty simple. I’m not sure what that says about me…shutup!

Words.

I like words. I like them a lot. I like to use them, I like to read them and I like to adorn myself and my home with them. Again and again I find myself attracted to things with words on them…other than the obvious I mean. Not just books and remote controls and the back of the cereal box. Things like pillows and paintings and jewelry. I am particularly fond of things that have Shakespeare’s words printed on them. But that’s probably because there are a lot less things printed with lines from John Donne’s poetry.

Anyway, I like words, not a big surprise, but sadly, there are two things that show up over and over again, printed on pillows and sun catchers and rings and bracelets that just drive me…bugnuts. It’s mean of me, I know, petty even. But I hate things printed with the word “dream.” I like the word “dream” just fine…in context. But the word “dream” on it’s own…sounds lazy to me. Why “dream”? Why not “do”? And for that matter, why not “nap”? I would totally buy a ring with the word “nap” engraved on it. I know, I know. It’s good to dream. It’s good to aspire to something more than what you have or are or could even possibly be. But to me, “dream” sounds weak. And I just don’t like it.

I also hate things with the phrase “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” It’s a tricky question that. It sounds deep but in my mind, we learn by failure. Why bother to only do the things you know you can do? Maybe I am just nitpicky but if I only did things that I knew I couldn’t fail at, I wouldn’t do anything…not that I do all that much now. I’m just sayin’. And it’s kind of one of those monkey paw situations. Like say, what would you do if you knew that you could not fail…well, I’d play the lottery. But playing doesn’t mean you’d win. And you can’t win the lottery just by playing right? Or even, what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Well, I’d fly. Yes, but does that include the landing. Because you could totally not fail to fly but then totally fail to land, right? Be careful people. Be careful.

Today I am wearing one of my favorite pieces of jewelry. It is a bracelet with my favorite line from a favorite poem by a favorite poet. It…it’s not…uplifting. But somedays don’t we all feel like we have been “run down by the drunken taxicabs of Absolute Reality”? I don’t know why there isn’t more stuff printed with the words I like.

Ok, yes I do.

Still, I would buy that set of three inspirational rings engraved with the words, “nap”, “drink whisky”, and “go barefoot.”