Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Antidisestablishmentarianism


So I’m going to try to do the ABC’s of gratitude this year. I sat down sometime in September and wrote 26 words to use. They just popped into my head & I typed them on the page. Perhaps someone will want to use these words as a psychology project to study the inside of my head. But probably not. They’re so random I’m pretty sure there’s no deep meaning. It’s going to be fun to come up with a coherent thought about what the word has to do with thanksgiving. Without further ado, here’s the first one.

Antidisestablishmentarianism When I was a child I was pretty shy. I didn’t like talking to strangers or being in new situations. However, with my family it was a whole ‘nother matter. If a situation didn’t have two sides to it I made one up just so I could argue the opposite side. My freshman (or was it sophomore?) year in high school I signed up for journalism as my elective. But my uncle Johnny, who taught English in my school, convinced me to switch to the debate class because I seemed so well-suited to it. Heh. So I did. And while I decided that my mind wasn’t quick and flexible enough to debate I learned to write and give speeches. In strange places. In front of strange people. I wasn’t super duper fabulous, but in the same way that piano lessons taught me the valuable life skill of reading music, original oratory taught me how to walk into a room and not feel like shrinking up against the wall. I might go so far as to say that taking that class taught me how to go to college by myself with no friends, and to go to Zambia by myself (that’s kind of a long plane ride from NC, in case you wondered). And I learned to say antidisestablishmentarianism really fast. Saying tongue twisters was the best part of the class. Really!

So my first ABC of gratitude is a big Thank You to my Uncle Johnny for getting me prepared to live in the world with other human beings and actually talk to them. 

12 comments:

  1. I envy you that ability to speak in front of a live audience. I worked in radio and television for decades and never had a problem with it. But to make a speech in front of a group? Terrifying! And it still is.

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  2. Since my nickname has always been "The Chubby Chatterbox" it stands to figure that I don't have a problem speaking up. But my heart starts pounding if it's a lot of people.

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  3. ABC of gratitude. This is a terrific idea! A couple of years ago I joined Toastmaster and I love giving speeches (I'm a show-off). Your uncle sounds like he was a wise teacher and worthy of your gratitude.

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  4. He was right - it is good to push ourselves a little. We're often grateful for it in the end.
    x

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  5. Sometimes we all need a push to do something that helps us grow.

    In terms of words, though, I prefer pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. (Which, I have just learned, is apparently a made-up word created merely to serve as the longest word in the dictionary.)

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  6. as i remember it disestablishmentarianism is something to do with the belief that one should get rid of the current order of the establishment and replace it with something else and that anti--- is the opposite, ie that things are basically ok as they are

    we need to rehabilitate these odd and long words, get them working and back into society

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  7. I laughed when I saw your word. It was on a vocab test we took in middle school. I still have memories of all of us walking around at lunch and in the halls just saying the word over and over. So much fun!

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  8. Well, that was a stretch. I kept wondering what this had to do with that word. It's a great idea though. Probably better than my ABC series.

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  9. I am looking forward to your ABC's! This is a good one!

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  10. You're so right Ellen - when I wrote the words down I had no idea how I was going to link them to gratitude. That was part of the fun (at least until I can find no connection whatsoever).

    But you're wrong about one thing - I LOVE your ABC series. I think your life experiences & opinions are way more interesting than mine are :)

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  11. Oh, now I just loved this tale of gratitude!

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  12. What a great story!

    Hugs & love,
    Mimi

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