February 2003

Entries
Current Entry
Previous Entry
Next Entry
Archives

Links
Personal Sites
and Forums/Boards
Diaryland
The Hunger Site

Communication
Write to me

This week, I'm part of a five-day collaboration called Februarium. My first entry of the five is here. Today's is the second, and the topic is:

Day Two, February 11: What you love.
-This one's about your favorite things, or pick one thing and wax rhapsodic on it. What turns you on? What gets you out of your bed in the morning? What brings you out of your funk? We want to know.

Oh my. High-heeled shoes. Pretty jewelry. Handbags. Stoles. Evening clothes. Music. Pens. Fine handwork. Many other things. And words.

I'm sure the main reason I love to write is that I so love words. I love the precise ones probably more than the ambiguous, though there's room in my soul for both. I love odd words, and old-fashioned ones.

Phrases, like "I love you," are also things of which I'm fond. But that phrase is one I only use when I'm utterly sure I mean it. I love the phrases associated with the law, too, which is one reason I'm so happy with my job. After all, where else are you going to see a phrase like, "Now comes before the court... ?"

I have long known and appreciated the power of words. I am the child of a language teacher and an attorney---how could I have missed knowing about words, with that background? And I have seen words turn situations completely around...words spoken or written that correct misimpressions, for example.

It is precisely because I find words to be such powerful tools that I tend to be careful about which ones I use. I use my share of profanity, but I'm careful where and when I use it, because I want my exclamations of the profane to be profound.

I have lot of appreciation, too, for the newly-coined words I meet. "Februarium," for instance.