BEHOLD

my favorite word for today...BEHOLD! makes you stop and look around, eh? not a word that fits easily into most conversations, but one of those cool words you roll around on your mental tongue like a root beer barrel. you can't just go around yelling "BEHOLD!" unless you work at the Renaissance Fair. i have been a word-o-phile since i can remember. when i was young - even before my brother came to torment my life - (kidding bro) - we didn't have 2 nickels to rub together to make a dime, so my mom and i would walk to the nearby library and get a stack of books. we'd sit outside in the summer, or in this floppy barcalounger with the stack beside us and she'd read read read. a high energy misbehaving child such as myself could be easily tamed with a few words..."one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." dr.suess has been elevated to sainthood by many a mother in the 50's and early 60's. horton hears a who....hop on pop....green eggs and ham....all good friends of mine thanks to those suessian summers. so i began reading early. and books became friends, and travel machines - taking me to places in my mind - alongside Nancy Drew (but not the real scary ones), albert einstein, mrs. who & mrs. which & mrs. where (wrinkle in time). words were, and are, so important and tasty...a new word could be savored and tried on for size. descriptive words like "popcorn" - now who doesn't hear it popping and smell the butter when you hear that word? later, in my teens, words could be used to show just how cool i was, or how angry - those 4-letters could really make a statement. it's funny how language changes...some words fall out of fashion, or become obsolete. new technology replaces old technology, so the words needed to convey ideas about the old are tossed along with them....when was the last time you "churned" butter? that word is still useful in other applications, but i bet the user has no clue about the butter thing. remember when we'd "dial up" a friend? dial phones....now try to describe THAT to a teenager. the first push button princess phones...i remember them well. it seems that "old fashioned" speech was much more formal...much more polite, for the most part. now, with words hitting you from every angle, words - and talk - is literally cheap. (my current cell bill aside). need to get ahold of someone? fax, phone, cell phone, text message, page, sky page, instant cell connection, IM, email...remember sitting down to write a letter? weighing your thoughts and words and practicing your handwriting? having to actually lick an envelope, buy a stamp, and get the letter to the mailman? in a few days, or a week, the letter would reach it's destination. what you wrote had better have staying power....so you were careful with your words. you may not get the opportunity to take them back for another few weeks. so BEHOLD! look around! what do you see?