The Word Is OVER

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

The following originally ran in a Facebook posting on April 13, 2014. I had Easter in mind at the time. But given current events and current attitudes, I feel this deserves to be the closing word.

Something to think about as we enter Holy Week -- so many people around us are trying to tell us it's over. America is over. Our freedoms are over. The economy is over. Our morals are over. Our families are over. Etc, etc, etc.

I'm over people telling me it's over. It's because they're living on a tangent of reality that's keeping them them from seeing what's NOT over. And they would notice it if they just looked up and saw it -- honestly.

GOD is a big-picture GOD. HE sees the beginning and the end, and everything between. We, however, tend to get stuck in tunnel vision, and instead of seeing everything, we will see our narrow view -- and more often, we see how rotten it is.

Is it any wonder then, when GOD sent HIS SON to us, those people who encountered HIM couldn't break out of their plane? Nahhh... can't be THE SAVIOR. THE SAVIOR wouldn't do that, wouldn't say that, wouldn't teach that. C'mon. That's not HIM. The real savior is coming to get rid of Romans, taxes, people we don't like... etc., etc., etc.

It's fascinating to me how people continue to put GOD on their side instead of getting on GOD's side, or making JESUS into their image instead of trying to be more like HIM. Or they create gods of their own: money, sex, politics -- especially politics. Liberalism and conservatism are their own religions, but that's another vent.

So what's really over? Our fear of the future, if we're right with GOD and living for HIM through accepting CHRIST. Remember, this world is not our final destination, no matter how "over" people tell you that it is. And if you look it over, honestly, you'll find where GOD is a part of it. Over here. Over there.

And in spite of us being all over ourselves and the messes we've made, GOD still gives us the chance to serve HIM over and over again and help do HIS work -- which HE didn't have to do. HE is GOD, after all. HE didn't have to send HIS SON over to us. But HE did.

So now, are things really over? Or are you just believing people who say it is rather than GOD, who tells you they aren't? (Jeremiah 29:11).

Over to you...

The Word Is AFFECTATIONS

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

"Let me give you my thoughts on affectations," said a friend of mine as he taught a class on 18th Century English dance. He stated flatly and matter-of-factly that various showy displays of the hands -- such as raising a free hand high during a hands-across figure -- were not fashionable. Instead of portraying courtly demeanor, they would bring about awkward reaction from others. Ridicule was not out of the question. I got a similar message from books on 18th Century dance, which dissuaded deep bows among gentlemen and the spreading of skirts among ladies when curtsying. "Oh just take all the joy out of it," I muttered.

I am one of those people who likes deep bows and encourages courtly curtseys. I love holding a free hand high every so often or shouting "Huzzah!" during a circle-round. I likely break the rules the English dancing masters taught, and then I break them again when I teach Colonial dancing to young people and subtly encourage them to embrace their inner regality. They're not wearing powdered wigs, knee breeches, tricorns or polonaise gowns, but I can at least help put their minds in the right frame with mannered and yet festive gestures.

Still, I look at how I danced during my first Williamsburg ball, and I have to note my gestures are exaggerated.



I'm all in the dance and then some. I need to refine my manners. Still, I was able to get some ladies to follow my lead with free hands high during at least a couple of dances. I have to be thankful for small victories.

One friend has also told me not to bow my head as well as my body when giving honours. I end up doing it anyway half the time because.... well, it's reverent. I always thought it unfair the ladies were taught to bow their heads or cast their eyes down when curtsying while the gentlemen were not expected to do the same. I also see myself as giving dual reverence, not only to my partner but to THE LORD OF THE DANCE. The other ladies don't mind.

"I did not know I was a queen!" one of them said to me at a dance. "Thank you, my subject!"

I say if you can be regal, be regal. It's the closest thing you'll ever get to living in a fairy tale or royal court. Or Pride & Prejudice.

The Word Is DISPERFECT

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Webster's Dictionary does not list "disperfect" as a word, but my Royal Father does. I heard him use it in the early 1980's, and my family was in the car on the way to a hotel in St. Louis for a weekend stay. Dad was having trouble finding the right turn-off to get to the place. "The directions they have given me have been, so far, disperfect."

It's not technically a word, but it should be. "Disperfect" represents those times when everything is working except for that one small thing that doesn't. Disperfect disses on perfect. Often, it represents a situation more than just flawed or fateful; it describes an abnormality we did not think we would have to account for or one small oversight on somebody else's part that throws everything out of whack.

Some examples of disperfect situations:

• A cupboard full of delicious soup and no can opener.
• Parking the car under the awning to avoid rain, birds, and high heat only to have to put up with the gnats that swarm in front of the sodium-vapor light that's above it at night.
• Having the toll for a highway out of Dulles International Airport in Washington, but not having exact change at a time when the toll booths are unstaffed. (Been there, done that.)
• Cooking up a candy-store full of treats for a kid's birthday party and then finding out the best friend of the guest of honor has a long list of food allergies.
• Trying to pay the rent when you realize you've run out of personal checks.
• Writing a killer book report on the wrong book.

The common thread through all of these is that we are prepared or we put forth effort, but some glitch complicates or ruins what should be a routine and practically flawless exercise. It reminds us life isn't fair or even completely rational.

The Word Is CONQUER

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

"Conquer" is one of those words that has deep dark connotations and yet it can appear so antiseptically. I have seen it used...

In textbooks: "Cortez conquered the Aztecs."

On Superfriends: "I will conquer them!"

In the Peanuts comic strip where Sally exclaims: "I've conquered new math!"

It's peculiar how the same word that can describe the joys of mastering fractional division can also describe the decimation and subjugation of peoples. Perhaps that's why I'm reluctant to use it even the creatively hyperbolic sense.

But don't let your servant hold you back from conquering your fears, your prejudices, your bad habits, your weight gain, your bad memories, and your sloth. If you are going to conquer the Annoying Guy in the Cubicle Next To You, this is where I turn and walk away, taking the sharp objects with me.

The Word Is EXPECTATION

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

My pastor recently pointed out that so many people have anxiety or frustration in this world -- and with GOD -- because of the wrong set of expectations. I have to agree. I've seen a lot of people think, erroneously, that GOD is out to punish them without cause -- HE isn't. Or, they think GOD doesn't love them because they are suffering in spite of their prayers and faithfulness -- that's the work of the devil, not GOD (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Sometimes people pray for one thing and get something totally unexpected that answers that prayer. GOD has been known to do that a lot.

One of the things I learned after I got right with GOD is to widen your expectations. If you are intent on seeing them met in only one way, you're going to be disappointed a lot. Of course, this doesn't always apply to the expectations you set for other people. If they're not meeting your expectations, then that's a problem. But if people are meeting what you expect of them, you can't expect they will do it in exactly the way you imagine. Creative solutions come from many a problem.

This is a very obtuse explanation, I know, but I'm sure you know of times in your life when your needs were met in a way you didn't expect because you were looking at the problem from another direction. Expect the unexpected!

The Word Is PUSH

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Earlier in this series, I talked about falling in with an international folk dance group here in Tucson. It has definitely broadened your servant's horizons and helped me stay fit. It has also been a exercise in humility: the more I learn, the more I see how much I have to learn. The feet don't want to follow the body, and the body sometimes doesn't want to move period after a long day in the newsroom. Still, I push myself to go. Why? Because I feel like I'm cross-training, just as I attend Scottish dancing to help with my English dancing, which in turn helps for my annual pilgrimage to Williamsburg and the George Washington Ball.

Pushing myself has paid off. It's easier for your servant to get through the two-hour "boot camp" ball rehearsal that precedes each Williamsburg Ball. Difficult figures don't throw me like they used to, and your servant has even had a chance to school some newcomers -- fulfilling that Colonial fantasy of being a dancing master.

It's not much different at work -- having to push myself to make deadlines, rewrite, do a lot of things in a little time to get a newscast on the air. But different from my dancing life, I have found myself guilty of trying to do too much at certain times, and I had to step back and realize I need to ask for help every now and then.

I bet a lot of you don't feel like you're doing your job unless you're taking it to the max. While that's fine, ask yourself if you really should be doing all you're doing. You may find -- as a former boss once told me -- that you have the world on your shoulders when you don't need to be holding it up!

The Word Is TENDERLY

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

You can approach this word one of two ways. My earliest memory of the word "tender" being used was on the radio. I heard Helen Reddy singing it -- or was it Maureen McGovern? In any event, my Aunt Susan was behind the wheel, taking me to Grandma and Grandpa Francis one day while the Queen Mother was getting ready to have Brother Michael in 1975. Among other things, we washed that car together in the shade of one of the trees. I have always loved that about my Auntie -- she could be as much of a kid as we were.

Maybe you prefer how Ernest Borgnine put it.



Your servant is partial to Dr. Teeth's version.

The Word Is ERUPTION

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Volcanic events are not limited to our Earth. Our relationships and our plans blow up. Our tempers explode, and you don't want to get caught in the lava flow. Watching Gordon Ramsay's eruptions on Hell's Kitchen is a constant reminder of who I do not want to become.

I have stood knee deep in ash and magma in a previous job, when a boss decided excoriating everybody was effective leadership. I soon left, as did many others. This boss was not boss for much longer, although he later admitted to a mutual friend that his blow-ups drove people away. And still, this mutual friend told me although she didn't like this guy's bullying, he was whipping people into shape in a competitive workplace. It was the grudging bargain of living with one thing to have the other.

I know I've wanted to blow up numerous times, and I have had to sit on my temper (James 1:19) because among other things, I know the short-term satisfaction will not equal the long-term guilt, or who knows what other consequences. I have seen people get fired for just one eruption, maybe not loud and boisterous but underhanded and passive-aggressive. This isn't even counting the number of times I've had to hold back from shredding somebody on Facebook.

With all the lava I've had to store up inside, it's a blessing I'm not dead from being burned from the inside.

The Word Is BREEZY

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Strunk and White's The Elements Of Style contains a caution for serious writers: "Do not affect a breezy manner." They urge you not to "confuse spontaneity with genius" by putting down whatever happens to come from your head. "The volume of writing is enormous, these days," they said, back in the days before Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.

Even if you leave out the written word, we know breezy people who simply talk too much about too many things and say too little -- but we enjoy it. As long as we don't have to pay by the word, who cares? Depending on the person, breezy can either make you the guy who keeps everybody's spirits up or "annoying cubicle guy," that office drone who drones on about every... single... thing. That's not breezy; that's a foghorn.

For those of us too polite to tell said creatures to put a sock in it, there's always earbuds connected to a smartphone.

The Word Is MULTITUDE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

"Multitude" is one of those cool Biblical words you rarely see outside the Bible, perhaps because it automatically draws out visions of an angelic host. To use it in any non-Biblical sentence seems sinful, at least to a friend of mine who thinks the term "awesome" should be reserved for GOD and nobody else, including valley girls and surfers.

"Multitude" conjures visions of a warm mob riffing off that great "cloud of witnesses" referenced in Hebrews 12:1. Multitudes don't riot in the streets, but they will sweep the sidewalks and plant trees in the easements. Maybe what we need is more multitude mentality and less mob mentality.

But we're not angels, and we never will be. And "multitude" doesn't carry all the cooler, hipper connotations of "crew," "bros," "homies," "sisters," or "girlfriends."

The Word Is HOMOGENIZED

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

We could argue back and forth whether homogenization makes your milk better or worse. I haven't consumed the unhomogenized kind. If you want something more natural, you know where you're going to land on this.

Leave the milk on the table for this one, though. Some things should not be combined into a "uniform mixture," as Webster's puts it. We tire of blandness. We bristle at uniqueness blended out of us like a Bass-o-matic.



But just like that machine which liquefies fish, homogenization makes tough things easier to swallow. We allow our schools to practically teach standardized tests because doing it the other ways take too long and demand too much time for classes that are too big with teachers paid too little. We allow watered-down regulations and distilled directives when doing the right thing becomes too hard.

Or maybe it's or too offensive. When's the last time you heard somebody in the U.S. talk about the "melting pot?" I haven't heard that term widely used since "Schoolhouse Rock."

The Word Is CHANGE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Politicians promise it. Spouses demand it. And we get upset when we don't get it. Change is something we demand a lot from other people but don't get enough to satisfy us.

Robert Wagner saw it from a more fateful angle, as something that happens to people rather than something people do:



He's looking at this as a noun, not a verb. When you deal with change, are you simply accepting it or actively inspecting it? Is it necessary? Is it right? Should you be changing the change? Are you going to be better off with the change than when you started? Is the change bettering just one person or many?

Situations change. People change. But when we change, we need to change for the right reasons, not simply because we have accepted change as life's sole constant.

The Word Is RAUNCHY

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Back in the 1980's, long before Facebook, computer bulletin board systems were the way to friend and like and message through a monochrome system of postings and replies. In one particular thread, one young lady took time out to consider what she deemed the raunchier things in life. Others, your servant included, added to that list in successive postings. Here are some of my contributions. Remember, I was barely a teenager, and I was waxing mischievous, so please don't reply to me saying, "Some of these things don't fit the definition of 'raunchy.'" I know they don't.

• Gum stuck on the ceiling (or anywhere else)
• Intestinal gas
• Parking the car up the street, walking down the street and seeing it roll past you
• Slugs
• Sticky Christmas tree resin
• Various brands of canned pet food, especially upon opening the can
• Some stinking cow
• Old Milk Duds
• Grapefruit juice

Obviously, your list will vary -- greatly.

The Word Is MODESTY

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Good gentlemen, what are you doing to yourselves? We hear this word a lot in the context of how ladies dress, but your servant wants to focus on the men -- because not a lot of people do. And frankly, I feel like men get a pass on this value when they should not.

When I worked at Six Flags Over Mid-America back in the 1990's, we had a rule for our male guests: no going topless. It didn't matter if you had the best beefcake and six-pack in the known world, you were not going to parade it around like you're on the beach. Put on a shirt. Still, guys would strut the hunk.

A skating rink in my hometown of Raytown had a similar rule: no tank tops. I gather this applied to Larry, a classmate who wore them year-round, even in the freezing Missouri winters. My working theory is he wanted the girls to see all his chest hair. He also had some beefcake. However, he never got into trouble at school for his fashion statement.

While Googling around on this topic, I was relieved to see I'm not the only person who's bothered by a double standard. Katelyn Beaty wrote in a Christianity Today article back in 2010:

While parents, youth pastors, and college staff spend much energy monitoring young women's clothing choices, young men are given few resources to think about how they present themselves, and how they might let a sister stumble. And I have yet to hear any Christian teaching on modesty as more than "covered up in all the right places." Before young women face undue pressure to monitor their male peers' sexual purity, Christian communities ought to provide a biblical context for why we pursue modesty in the first place—and make sure both men and women get the message.

Amy Buckley wrote in Relevant:

Some years later, while navigating occasional attractions as a married woman (wedding rings don’t end that), I began wondering if modesty applies to men: Does a man’s shirt, or lack of, ever send wrong impressions? Does the fit of his jeans ever invite women to linger and (gasp) lust? Does immodest behavior, like flirting, ever harm his relationships? What does modesty require of a God-honoring man?

I think a lot of us don't teach young men about modesty because we think we don't have to. The Bible says a lot about how women dress, but little about the men. And we don't think a naked guy's chest is arousing -- especially if we're guys in the first place. Both authors point out the Bible's stand on this, but the short version is this: modesty shows respect to GOD.

This may sound silly to you, but I'll let it fly: I figure my love of historic clothing is partly rooted in my love of THE LORD. Revolutionary War uniforms are my favourite, because one can look like both soldier and gentleman, all the way down to the knee breeches. Truth be told, a gentleman's calves were quite attractive to 18th Century ladies. No wonder they wore stockings over their lower legs -- or even spatterdashes over the stockings.

For my Scottish attire, I have always insisted my kilts fall below the knee. I hike up my stockings as far as I can get them so I will not reveal much skin, if any. Of course, that's impossible when I'm doing a festive twirl during a dance and the kilt lifts up. Before you ask the famous question, let me tell you I take proper defensive measures. When I told a fellow kilt-wearer that, he replied with this: "You know what that's called? Wearing a dress!"

In the 18th Century, people considered a gentleman half-naked if he wore anything less than less than three layers of clothing in public: shirt, weskit (vest), and coat -- in addition to the knee breeches, stockings, powdered wig and tricorn. This likely compelled a lot of sweat during those miserably hot colonial summers, but modesty was the rule, built upon the fashion sense of the time.

"I still wish men dressed like that," a lady friend once told me. The gentlemen would likely think otherwise.

Even when I'm not dressing in period clothing, that fashion sense still worms its way into my thinking. I bought a pair of long shorts because they reminded me of 18th Century sailor slops. I paired them with matching black over-the-knee socks, and a retro-Colonial look was born. The Queen Mother still thinks they're hip-hop shorts, though.

Whatever you may call them, I can't see myself ever wearing ultra-short boxers, much less a thong bathing suit or tank tops. It's not me. It's not who I am, and I definitely wouldn't feel right. Other guys' attitudes will vary, so I can only speak for myself. And this tricorn-and-breeches wearing guy would rather be fully dressed in the presence of GOD and others.

The Word Is CIRCUS

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled series of word-based philosophical essays and memoirs to focus on another word which won't quite have the same meaning again. As this post goes up, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus has announced their tents are coming down for good in May. Changing times, changing attitudes toward animal acts, and changing entertainment options all led up to this day. I also think the rise of Cirque du Soleil was the beginning of the end. However, the biggest factor in RBBBC's demise is this: the act had grown routine, perhaps stale.

As the AP's Tamara Lush points out, "When the circus came to town, kids dreamed of running away to join it and its ever-changing roster of stars: the sad-faced clown, Emmitt Kelly; the daredevil trapeze act, the Flying Wallendas; Gunther Gabel-Williams, blond-maned and fearless in the ring with the big cats." But other diversions caught up with the wonderment of the big top. Joining the circus didn't seem like such an escape anymore, especially after the Internet got into the house.

Many people are going to blame RBBBC's death on their decision to eliminate the elephant acts, after which ticket sales tanked. But its parent company, Feld Entertainment, did the math: it could not continue to pay lawyers to fight animal-rights activists, and it couldn't make money if cities were going to limit their options by taking a hard line on treatment of the wild kingdom.

Giovanni Zoppe, owner of the small Zoppe Family Circus, put it bluntly to KOLD News 13's Maria Hechanova:

"I think these animal rights groups are awful. I’m sorry if I offended anyone, I’m sorry. They’re a big percentage of why circus is dead. We can’t fight them ... It makes me very angry. Who are they to say what’s right or wrong. We’re around these animals 24 hours a day."

I say the elephant in the room wasn't elephants. Ringling Bros. would still be around if it had made the bold step of pulling in the feel of of some of its competitors: it should've de-emphasized animal acts years ago while increasing theatrics similar to Cirque du Soleil. Perhaps RBBBC could've pilfered a few Cirque producers to help reimagine the Greatest Show on Earth for new audiences. Instead, it just tweaked the basic show, thinking that its status as an American and cultural institution was strong enough.

It should've seen what was happening in the rinks. Ice Capades, Ice Follies, and Holiday on Ice all went dark when they couldn't evolve. Disney on Ice is surviving because it re-invents itself with new characters and new elements every year. Having a multi-billion dollar company and iconic characters doesn't hurt either. Sesame Street Live continues to play because it performs a different-themed show with new material every time it comes to town.

Now the Greatest Show on Earth will fade into history after May. Family-run circuses like the Zoppe's will live on with smaller, more intimate shows and few if any animals. It won't be the same. That's exactly why they will continue to play and Ringling Bros. will not.

The Word Is RUT

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Long ago, in a newsroom far, far away, I had a supervising producer who was deathly afraid of being boring. That's not a bad fear to have as a television producer. In fact, it's almost compulsory. But that fear becomes irrational when you constantly work to keep the production value high and still feel the ratings boogeyman is out to get you.

"I just feel we're falling into a rut," this supervisor commented one time.

This was a station that had a monstrous lead over its weak one-station competition and continued to consistently kick tail. Rut, my butt.

True ruts in business are brainless complacency nurtured by laissez-faire leadership. People show up and collect a check but do little except occupy mass. I've never worked in a business that tolerated that, either inside of television or out.

"Well, yeah," one might scoff. "You've never worked for the government!"

The Word Is FRONTING

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

If you're following my Facebook page, you know one my frustrations is people who are one person in public and another person online. Social media stokes and nourishes people's inner troll, and yet they are able to put that troll back under the bridge when they have to live in the real world and meet people face to face.

"Fronting" is a more polite version of trolling. It's putting on an artificial persona better than the person who created it, whether it's online or in real life. Before you ask, I gather you could accuse your servant of this, for all those times I have worn tricorns and knee breeches and kilts and spoke the Queen's English. But that's what historical re-enactors love to do. And we love it so much, it's impossible for us to keep it from spilling into our present lives and times. I have said that if you put on a tricorn hat in the 21st Century, you better be a better person for it. If living the best and most honourable parts of your history doesn't inspire you, what's wrong with your heart?

"You're so real," a girlfriend once told me, and I found that puzzling since I seemed to be living more like an 18th-century colonial gentleman than a 21st-century TV news producer. I gather some people don't mind this kind of fronting. Not if it uplifts them.

The Word Is FAILURE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

"Failure is not an option!"

"Epic Fail!"

"#Fail"

A word that once drew shame is now thrown around like a dart at people and situations we consider substandard and inferior to our sensibilities. I see this word used way too often in too much hyperbole. But since it's fun to toss about, I don't expect that to change.

I don't expect people to understand the nuances, either. A distinct difference exists between a failure and something that just didn't work. Failure, as hyperbolism now defines it, implies spectacular loss or defeat -- epic failure! Many times failure isn't epic; it's the inability to achieve something at a particular moment, despite having the necessary preparation, smarts or equipment.

Look it at this way: The University of Arizona Wildcat basketball team has gotten into the NCAA playoffs nearly every year in the 17 years I have been in Tucson, yet they have only made it to Final Four once in those 17 years. I don't consider that a failure. They have played their tails off and taken some grueling losses. Some teams were sub-par in some years, but you don't get deep into the tournament if you don't have the skill set.

So failure is a matter of perspective. In absolute disasters, the word fits unequivocally. Other times, it's just one of those trendy buzzwords.

The Word Is LACONIC

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

In ancient Greece, those from Laconia said little, creating a word that long outlived them. It comes with a negative, sometimes dour connotation. Many of these people have tremendous impact on the people around them, often for good.

But once, I had to work with somebody who said little while handling a sizable load of responsibility. Ms. Laconic edited tape at a previous station I worked at. She had a habit of not saying anything was wrong until she would utter a brief phrase over the headset. By then, it was too late to deal with it, prompting some awkward moments during a newscast. She had a habit of saying little, period.

And there were rumors. "She'll turn you into a frog," one director told me, thinking her broom was parked right outside. I never saw anything like that, fortunately.

Then there are the people who say little but just radiate warmth. A regular member of one of the dance groups I'm is quietly joyous and spirited, letting her movement do the talking. I prefer to call it focused; I'm that way myself when I'm trying to work through the patterns and gotchas of a strathspey.

As we know -- or should remind ourselves -- people talk in different ways. Some just enjoy the silence.

The Word Is GIFTED

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

When, in the course of our evolving English language, did we turn "gifted" from an adjective into a verb? What's wrong with "gave?" Now that I have that rant out of the way, let's get back to the adjective form of the word.

When I was in elementary school, those students who scored above a certain standardized test score got to take part in my district's "Gifted and Talented" program, commonly known as "G and T." I'm not sure what went on in this program, but I got the feeling it was lot like what Bart Simpson encountered.



Naturally, this leads to jealousy -- both in your wee servant and undoubtedly others. Why do only the smart kids get to do the cool stuff? Nowadays, we have magnet and charter schools that cater to your heart's desire while still teaching everything else. I wish there would have been one for software development. I was developing Mac applications while the other kids were playing dodgeball.

My parents could sense my frustration, and the Queen Mother had an answer. "Those people in G & T have to do extra work, and you grumble about the work you have to do as it is." Not long ago, after I brought up this memory again, the Queen Mother revealed to your servant that the G & T kids got to work on individual projects of their choosing, a sort of guided-study course. I could've persuaded a teacher or two to let me work on a Macintosh or TRS-80 or CP/M program as my project. I would dive deeper down the rabbit hole of software engineering and it wouldn't seem like work.

I never got into G & T. By the time I hit high school, the course selection was diverse enough to kill much of the blackboard blues. I got to load up on debate, theater and programming classes. I learned to sew in Home Economics. I learned to type. I had everything I wanted and lots of things I didn't have time for but would pursue later. That was the real "gift."

The Word Is PERSISTENCE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

I have learned the value of persistence in prayer, in my job, and shopping at thrift stores. Through persistence of making my rounds once or twice a week, I have scored some incredibly inexpensive fabric for sewing projects, computer books for my nerd indulgences, and a Medieval tunic.

As I have implied before, the art of scoring at thrift stores is to keep on the watch. You won't find a deal every time you go, but keeping at it increases your odds. In card games, the dealer will throw dozens of lousy hands your way, but the good ones will make it worthwhile.

You were expecting something broader and more inspirational than how to shop at Goodwill? Well, okay...

The Word Is YIELD

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Those who designed certain traffic laws never had to drive. Perhaps they never had to encounter the situation of making a turn while people were using a crosswalk.

The law says when you're making a turn at a corner, and somebody is using a crosswalk, you yield to the pedestrian. That's the polite thing to do. But pity the person who's having to get to the other side with an impatient motorist who can't understand why one person should hold up his turn on a green light, especially when said person is in no expediency to complete the crossing. Harried chickens cross the road faster. Unfortunately, many humans do not.

Maybe it's time we bring the traffic laws into closer congruence with the laws of physics. Right-of-way will be determined not by who's walking, but by gross weight. That means when you're at a crosswalk facing a Hummer making a turn, stay out of the way. In Great Britain, reminders are painted on the pavement: "Look left" or "Look right." The responsibility -- at least part of it -- is placed back on the pedestrian. Get mowed down by a Mini Cooper and it's your own bloody fault. It's impolite, but it's realistic in the road rage age.

Cruising down River Road in Tucson after dark can be an illuminating experience, if you count your white knuckles. I usually spot at least one person walking or cycling in the dead of night wearing pitch black clothing -- no safety light, no reflective tape. The recommended speed limit is 40. I'd say you need to dial it down even lower. Errant cyclists and strollers are not going to change their habits, no matter how many times we report an auto-pedestrian death on the news.

Many of these entirely preventable deaths come from good 'ol scofflaw jaywalking, not just reckless drivers. Tucson Police just got an infusion of cash to help crack down on these issues, although I have yet to personally witness TPD ticket somebody for jaywalking.

"Did you know you were darting out into the middle of the street?"

"No, sir, I didn't."

"You know what a Hummer is?"

"Yes, sir."

"You ever been hit by one of those?"

"No sir, I thought they stopped making 'em."

The Word Is THRIFTY

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

The Queen Mother never had to worry about your servant getting hooked on dope as a child.

"You wouldn't want to pay for cocaine when you found out how much it was," she jibed. That was before cheap crack came along, but no matter.

Just the other day, I was with Mom and Dad as we were walking past the shops in Victoria Gardens, the high-end shopping community in Southern California's "909." I kept noticing all the ragged, scruffy clothing in the windows.

"I could probably go to Goodwill and Savers and get the same thing for less than half the price," I said.

"Yes, but it's the way those jeans are ripped that makes them fashionable," Mom observed.

She still wonders why I'm buying clothing at thrift stores when I can afford to pay full price. The reason is simple: I believe most people can't tell a pair of preowned slacks from a fashionably scruffy new pair, and going the second-hand route allows me to get two pair for the price of one. Pre-owned socks and underwear are out of the question.

The Queen Mother also can't understand why I buy cheap toilet paper, the kind that sells for less than a dollar per four-pack. When the folks were last visiting me in Tucson, the Queen of Clean insisted on refilling more than a few cleaning supplies -- along with softer toilet tissue. I don't particularly care for something priced as though it should be perfumed on each individual square, but Mother won that round.

Spending less money on toilet paper means more money is available to give to others and stash away for other goodies, including retirement. I also don't know how long my Kia Spectra will continue to chug down the road, although it has gotten beyond 150,000 miles at this point with remarkably few problems beyond normal maintenance. Your servant's goal is to get it to at least 200,000. I would at least like to top the 170,000 miles I got from my 2001 Kia Rio. That car was made as cheaply as one could make a car and still meet federal regulations, down to the cracking plastic all over the place. Still, I got nearly 10 years out of that car, and probably double its expected mileage, even though the compressor became a recurring pain in the behind during the last months of its life. I kept the costs down by ordering used compressors from a junkyard parts recycler and hiring an amiable, talented mechanic to install it.

"A lot of people buy throwaway cars and just keep on fixing them," he told me as he worked on somebody's Toyota that probably should have been taken around back and put out of its misery years ago. The owners kept on fixing them because they found it cost-effective given the choice of a repair versus a car payment. Dave Ramsey has said the most affordable car you can buy is the one you're already in, extolling the virtue of staying in a "beater." I hear people calling into his show regularly with $100,000 in debt, and they're making payments on a $40,000 truck.

I have very few rules for what rides I will consider when I get that next car: it must be pre-owned. And it must be able to hold a French flintlock musket.

The Word Is LOOSE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

You don't want many things in life to be loose -- your shoestrings, the bolts on your car, your pets, and many other things, many of which are not appropriate to be mentioned here.

"Loose" is one of those words where the negative connotations outweigh the positive ones. But I also remember watching basketball coaching legend Pat Summitt in a documentary praise one of her players for being "loose." It's a defense strategy, as I found out. Looseness can also imply adaptability, the freedom to pivot as situations demand.

Playing loose in your business means 1) you're trying to cheat people, or 2) you're trying to be nimble enough to get the drop on your competition and adapt to challenges. Looseness and sloppiness are two different issues. Sloppiness means you're ditching your passion. Looseness means you have a desire to win, but if you're so loose you ignore everything but winning, you're going to lose -- for being too loose.

So tighten up where you need to, but make sure you have a little room to play.

The Word Is INDULGENCE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

"I will allow myself one indulgence."

Your servant says that from time to time, taking more of something he enjoys beyond what he usually takes. Maybe it's food. Maybe it's an experience. Sometimes it's dancing.

Several months ago, I started attending an international folk dance group in Tucson at the suggestion of a friend. I had shown off a new Cossack outfit I had sewn and thought I needed a few dancing partners to go with it:



So I joined the group and quickly learned how incompetent my feet can be, especially on the more challenging Eastern European and Greek dances. Even dressing up as the merry Cossack to help frame my mind and heart could not always aid and abet the legs.



Requested dances make up a large portion of each session. However, I have a hard time remembering the non-English names of many dances -- just as I have a hard time dancing. Yet, one stands out as one I can both handle and enjoy: "Johan Pa Snippen" from Sweden.



I have wanted to request it several times, but I saved it and I waited until the week of your servant's birthday in December. We had a small gathering that night, but just enough were on hand to pull it off. I allowed myself that indulgence.

"Don't you ever splurge on anything?" Madame Sherri has asked.

"Well, yes, historic clothing," I point out. But even then, I've had the most fun making fancy garments out of cheap bedsheets.



However, the buttons are fancy silver. I allowed myself that indulgence.

The Word Is ISOLATION

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

I never forget what it's like to be alone, not of your own choice, but abandoned by others. I felt it a lot as a bullied child. I felt it again after Election Day.

I saw people hurting. I saw people celebrating. And your servant was caught dead in the middle, just like that PoliticalCompass.net graph that measures where I am on the ideological scale. I never have considered myself liberal, conservative, authoritarian or libertarian. I don't fit neatly into any one political box, and the chart proved it.


For many years, I have felt myself isolated from prominent politics, too complex to be summed up by a bumper sticker, a D or an R. I put on a tricorn hat and a Continental Army uniform and people will gather I'm conservative. Well, not all the time. I bend liberal on other issues. I will support unions while also supporting the right to work. I strongly support ladies on equal pay issues, just as I strongly support gun rights. But I also believe rights come with responsibilities. I partake of international folk dance and love to dress up as a Russian Cossack. I put a bumper sticker on my car last year saying, "Washington/Adams 2016." It's complicated.

"A lot of people feel the same way as you do," a friend tried to reassure me when I told him I felt abandoned by political movements.

Before and after the votes came in, I prayed a lot. When it was all over, I told people at my church while they praised GOD, they also needed to pray for those feeling scared or hopeless. Now was not the time for tap-dancing on graves. I even tried to share what I thought was a neutral, diplomatic and reverent stance on Facebook, something consistent with loving your enemies as well as your friends.



If I knew people were going to let loose on me, I would've kept my empathy to myself. Margaret Thatcher once said if you're in the middle of the road, you get run over. Various political factions hate moderates -- except when they're needed to win elections. Your servant was no different. People also accused me of not wanting to listen to other opinions...

"It is harmful to personal growth when you decide to shield yourself from opinions that are contrary to your own and thus keep your safe place safe. It seems that you just want to place controversial issues "out there" when you desire (your right), comment upon them (your right), but then exclude certain folks from hearing your voice in order to get the biggest positive bang of affirmation from your "selected" facebook friends. To be unwilling to hear differing opinions, retards intellectual growth."

I had to read the above from my own flesh and blood. On facebook. From a relative. In public. Like a two-year-old getting spanked at the supermarket.

Never mind that I listen to differing opinions all day in the newsroom or on Facebook as part of the business. It didn't matter. I offered a rose and felt it shoved down my throat.

When my friends don't act like my friends, it hurts. When they lecture me like a parent scolding a child, it hurts. When they say they don't want my prayers, it hurts -- even when I say, "Be Blessed" to them more times than I can count. On Facebook, nobody knows you're hurting unless you say so. They don't see me lying in bed at night, wondering what to say, what to do, or whether to do anything. They don't see anything I do to sympathize or empathize with others outside what I say publicly, or misinterpret silence for consent when it's just politely stepping away from the madding crowd under the if-you-can't-say-anything-nice principle. They don't see me sending birthday greetings and virtual courtly 18th Century bows every morning to people I have friended but barely know. On Facebook, I have an easier time living as that colonial nobleman who is more than just a profile picture. As a re-enactor talking to kids about their liberties or how to dance with regality and honour, it flows from me naturally as if your servant is countering the ugly in the world. And still, that ugliness bites my behind.

"If you take one thing away from here," I once said to a young lady in my persona as a soldier in George Washington's Army, "know that freedom doesn't come from governments -- it comes from GOD." That young lady happened to be a Muslim foreign exchange student who had been studying American history and found herself confused and bewildered about how a nation that fought for freedoms could soon find itself in the Civil War. Truth be told, I have problems understanding it myself at times.

Back in the day-to-day world, I sucked it up, buttercup, with my safety pins on the inside, holding the buttons on one of my Colonial coats. I had work to do, outfits to make and balls to look forward to rather than pity parties.

I told a friend I might have to step away from Facebook, something I chafed at doing. The social network is becoming the new e-mail, the indispensable part of digital life you can't opt out of because millions of people are on it. Even my workplace expects me to maintain a Facebook presence. But why allow myself to be bullied anymore? Taking gut punches is no way to live, but fortunately, that friend suggested a humane and diplomatic solution which didn't involve unfriending, blocking or deleting my account. I decided it was finally time to get up off the ground and stand up for my battered self by instituting a kind quarantine.



The response was immediate and overwhelming. People who never commented on anything I have written showed they had my back. And people I called friends proved they deserved that distinction. I thank GOD for all of them. Sometimes Facebook serves the common good after all.

Some of you reading this still feel isolated, and hopefully it's not because of so-called social networks that are increasingly anti-social. Or others chastise you because your beliefs don't neatly conform to either Holy Conservative Principles or Holy Liberal Principles. Remember this: you work for GOD. GOD will ultimately look upon your heart, not your Facebook friends (some in name only) or your real-life friends, or the political establishments trying to woo you.

When Phil Collins was going through one of his divorces, he wrote a song for Genesis called "Guide Vocal," on the Duke album. He summed up what I have often felt when isolated, but I didn't want to repeat out loud or on the screen in anger...

"I am the one who guided you this far,
All you know, and all you feel.
Nobody must know my name,
For nobody would understand, and you kill what you fear.
I call you now, for I must leave.
You're on your own, until the end.
There was a choice, but now it's gone.
I said you wouldn't understand.
Take what yours and be damned."

Don't be damned. Be Blessed. May GOD Bless You... even if you don't want to hear that from me.

The Word Is RELEVANT

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

While trying out for a newsroom job, a potential news director asked me what my news philosophy was. Fortunately, I had prepared myself for that proverbial Big Question with a one-word answer: relevance. Why should I care? Why is this news? What does this mean to my life?

It's a philosophy that has worked; I've gotten job offers with it. But your servant is just one producer, not the news director. So each newscast has at least a sliver of time dedicated to forgettable car crashes. While I don't give a whoop about those things, somebody else does, and you work for your viewers who consistently put "traffic" as one of the top issues they care about in every viewer survey we conduct. "Crime" is high up on the list as well. You get what you ask for, and if you didn't ask for it, the other person did.

Those who feel themselves irrelevant to the relevance question end up leaving the business. A good friend of mine told me, "When you stop caring, it's time to leave." One reporter friend is now an insurance agent, where he feels more relevant than ever helping people plan and protect their lives. The feedback is immediate and not measured in ratings points. Other news friends and colleagues suck it up and go on to the next story, knowing that the sum of the parts is not always quantifiable by a numerical metric. They're thinking about the long game.

What does GOD say to news people when they stand before the throne? It can't be any different than what HE says to anybody else. GOD doesn't rank us by profession, even though HIS subjects do. Think about that the next time you turn up your nose and snort at a news person.

The Word Is DISRUPTIVE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

I'm annoyed by this trend of people taking words with negative connotations and making them into positive adjectives. "Sick" is one of those words. So is "ridiculous." But I have special gripes for those who have turned "disruptive" into a paradigm of trendiness.

A March 2015 edition of Doonesbury points this out beautifully. In the last five years, "disruptive" has become a catch-all for anything new, unusual or different that has to be great simply because it's new, unusual or different, or something that does so in a new, unusual or different way. Quality or effectiveness does not enter into the equation. Simply being different is value in and of itself.

If value doesn't matter anymore, anything goes. Thus we end up with a plate full of bad ideas that became good because they were "disruptive." So what, you may argue, if there's one good idea in the pile -- it's a numbers game. Not when the bar is artificially lower.

When I was a child, people got in trouble at school for being "disruptive" in class. Please don't tell me it's the latest educational trend, designed to shake the stodginess out of the learning experience and provide an exciting, dynamic new model.

The Word Is DENOUEMENT

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

If you can remember your literature classes, you may remember the teacher talking about the climax of a work of fiction, followed by the tying up of loose ends afterward -- the "denouement." That's pronounced "day-know-mah" if you read it out loud.

That is where we are right now as the new year begins. The party is over. The climax is past. The action began back on Thanksgiving Day, perhaps a little before that. Some will say it began back in October, but not for your servant. I refuse to deal with more than one holiday at a time. I won't discuss Thanksgiving until after Halloween. I won't think about New Year's until after Christmas. And after every Christmas and New Year's Day, it's the same: we are suddenly but not unexpectedly at least a little bummed out. Too many holidays in rapid succession will do that to you.

What else is there to look forward to in the next few months? Valentine's Day? Nah, and especially not if you're single. The next real event holiday for many people is Easter, or maybe Mardi Gras. But they're not Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

I was ready for Christmas 2016 back in June and July, when we were going through a depressing, discouraging display of inhumanity, of people shooting up nightclubs, cops shooting people, and people shooting cops. Please get here December, I thought, so we can remember how to care for one another again. We shouldn't have to wait another year for that.

So here we are in the denouement. And we are feeling a bit lost and hoping the new year doesn't leave us wishing for New Year's Eve faster than it should.

The Word Is PRESENCE

This series is inspired by the "Words From
Unity" public service announcements
that ran on television (particularly in
Kansas City) in the 1970's and 80's.

Woody Allen once said, "Showing up is 80 percent of life." Jean-Paul Sartre said, "To do is to be." A former boss of mine said about coming in on off hours, "Sometimes, I just have to be here."

Some people think their presence is increasingly unnecessary or negotiable. In a former newsroom job, a producer managed to slip away from showing up when a major hurricane hit, thus increasing the workload on others during a hectic and stressful times. I doubt this person suffered any meaningful consequences.

My Queen Mother has dealt with parents who have no discernable presence in their children's educational life. These people never show up for parent-teacher conferences. Many who do openly display incompetence and cluelessness about their role in making sure their offspring do not contribute to the dumbing-down of a nation. But we don't grade parents in school.

Just being there doesn't guarantee you success, but it does wonders to prevent failure. I've known at least one boss to say, when it comes an unfortunate time of layoffs, they're hard-pressed to cut somebody who's always there working their tails off -- even if there's other issues -- because those people have invested themselves in the operation. Elsewhere in the time-space continuum, we know people who simply occupy mass in our lives with little benefit. Showing up is part of it, but so is showing our work and showing we care.