Are There Consequences?

Why doesn't Lake Erie just cave in? What's holding it up? Does anyone know how much salt has been mined from beneath the lake? And now someone is taking the natural gas from beneath the ground. With what are those spaces filling up? Are we going to have one big sinkhole someday? Or maybe a lot of smaller ones? It's not just here, either, it's all over the world. Pretty soon we may be walking around on a thin crust, hoping things won't cave in.

These are a few of the questions that show up in my head on nights when I can't sleep. People who know these things just laugh and tell me not to worry; nothing bad is going to happen. How do they know?

All this worrying is giving me a headache; I need to take a nap.

Huh?

The English language must be outgrowing me. I have trouble keeping up with the current usage of certain words and phrases. For example, hardly a day goes by that someone on some TV show asks someone else, "Mind if I join you?" I always think the correct answer should be "No, I don't mind," or just "No," if you would welcome the other person. But lately, the answer, at least on TV, has been, "Yes." The person asking then sits down next to the first person. To me, the answer "Yes," means, "Yes, I mind; please go away."

More and more, when a character in a book means yes, the author writes, "She shook her head yes." Don't you nod your head when you mean yes, and shake your head when the answer is no? When did this change?

And what about the phrase, "I could care less," when the person saying it clearly means, "I could not care less." This can be a bit confusing.

Then there's the double preposition - "From which he fully expected to wake from." What's with that?

I hate to admit to losing concentration when I'm reading, but, no matter how hard I try, when I come across one of these words or phrases, I get distracted thinking about whether it is proper English, and what the author really means. I can almost lose track of the story. Am I the only one this happens to?

To Dream or Not to Dream

A recent commentary on NPR pointed out that, today, there is little chance for anyone to be bored.  Our time is constantly filled with electronic games, texts, even movies and TV shows which can be downloaded onto devices small enough to carry in our hand or pocket.   Back before cell phones, iPads, or computers, there were times when people actually had nothing to do. Now, if you're standing in line waiting for a table, waiting for the store to open, or even on hold on the phone, there is always a distraction waiting to be accessed. We no longer have to be bored.

The commentator's point was that we are missing out on the times when our imaginations were allowed to soar, or when we could  dream of what might be, or even develop a plan for the future. According to her, this is where our minds went when we were bored. Now, there is a lack of daydreaming, perhaps of creativity. She believes we need these times of boredom to dream, and dream big.

If that is the case, then I have always wasted my time.  Since about the age of 6, I have never gone anywhere without a book. If I had to wait for an appointment, my book was there. If someone ran an errand and left me in the car, I had a book to read. Even when I was put on hold, or during TV commercials, I  had a book in front of me. Now I have to wonder just how imaginative I could have been if I had put the book down and filled the empty time with daydreaming. Would I already have had that novel published?

Do I still have time to learn this art of daydreaming?

Journaling

Journaling - defined as "a form of psychotherapy." I wasn't even sure it was a real word when I started doing it, but there it is. I do keep a journal, maybe better described as morning pages. I don't write in it every day, but I figure if I managed my time better (my one and only New Year's resolution), that journaling time would increase. The difficulty is, my great-grandson also likes to write in my journal. Since he just turned 5 and is only now learning his letters, this can sometimes be a problem. He didn't seem to notice that he was writing his thoughts down on top of mine, effectively making it impossible for me to go back and see what magical ideas I had had.

There is no way I can yell at him, or tell him he cannot write in my journal; really, I'm glad he wants to do this. So I decided I would put my current binder where he would be unlikely to find it, but where it would be easy for me to get at. I'm sure you can guess what happened - I forgot where I put it! Days went by and I looked in all the desk drawers, on all the book shelves, everywhere and anywhere I thought it would have been logical to put this binder. Not there, or there or there! Yesterday, I finally found it! Right where I put it, on top of a bookcase, under a beautiful wooden bowl made and given to me by a friend. It is now back in plain sight, on top of the table in the pool room,

And yes, my great-grandson is again writing in my journal, But he has assured me that he is only writing on the pages I haven't used yet! I think that is very thoughtful of him, don't you?