Things that make you go, "hmmmm"

Years ago there was a late night host who had an interesting phrase. It probably wasn't original with him, but he rather made it famous. It was the afore-mentioned, "Things that make you go, hmmm." (number of m's is optional, maybe depending on how bizarre or stupid the thing is) I have actually adopted that phrase, including the gentle stroking of your jaw line downward toward your chin, using your thumb and fingers on each side. It might help to look thoughtful while you make the motion. Slowing down the action and phrase makes it sound like the item in question might be even more stupid.

Comedians have come up with some things that qualify, like: Why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway? (things that make you go, hmmm) Oxymorons land right in there: Army intelligence. (things that make you go, hmmm) Our own language has innocently joined in by its combining of descriptors: awfully good. (things that make you go hmmm)

I was caught in my own peve a day or two ago. I fell short of the now popular, "blah-blah-blah", but utilized an older version of the same meaning. It was, "Etc." I used it in an e-mail, and when I wrote it , I knew perfectly well what I meant. The recipient apparently was not on the same mind wave-length that I was, and needed further clarification. As I began filling in the holes, it became clear to me just how much I took for granted with my first transmission. So, I described as best I could to the co-worker what I needed. I ended the e-mail with the admission that I had succumbed to the existing torrent of non-descript language that has taken us over. Use of words like "deal-io", and "thingy" are nearly as prolific as the words "like" and phrase "I was all" or "she was all". Doesn't anyone SAY anything anymore? I have counted upwards of 12-14 uses of "like" in one sentence used as filler - there was no implication of anything being similar to anything else in the entire conversation. The co-worker replied that she would "get the "thingy" taken care of right away." Good to see she hasn't lost her sense of humor.

Our Student Pastor this Sunday quoted Bill Hybels as saying that we - humans are built to operated at around 65 mph. Unfortunately, most of us function at around 75 mph. God speaks at 25 mph. I would like to believe that God also speaks in complete sentences with coherent thought, unlike what our language has become. The old joke goes that in a discussion about what version of the Biblical Text is most authentic, one fellow was promoting King James Version while another was advocating that some of the newer versions are more accurate. Sticking to his guns, the King James proponent finally had nothing to fall back on except this; "Jesus quoted in King James, so it's good enough for me!"

I'm convinced that as I become older, I'm beginning to clutch to some values that used to be less important to me, and clearly are not very important to MOST of the younger generation. I hope I've not reached the stage of being crotchety, but know this. WORDS HAVE MEANING. Let's slow down and recapture some of the meaning and beauty of our language. One of my favorite lines from the movie, My Fair Lady comes from Professor Higgins. "You'll get much further with the Lord if you learn not to offend his ears." (not good theology, but I appreciate his thought.)