WORD POWER

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words (names) will never hurt me.” Do you remember that saying we all used as kids when some bully was calling us names or saying something ugly about us? It was a phrase I think we were taught so we would learn to ignore what was being hurled at us. However, it just isn’t true. Words are powerful.

Nathan Hale used his last words to inspire a new nation when proclaimed, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King used his words to give direction to a movement as he simply said, “I have a dream.” Since the beginning of time words have been used to cause wars and reunions. Put some music to some rhythmic words and you will have a number one hit song people just can’t get out of their heads.  

But words don’t have to be so grandiose as to bring people to their feet or garner applause. If you are a parent, the simple first word of your child put a lump in your throat. Sitting in the hospital the words, “How are you?” bring comfort as you await news of the surgery. Whether it’s in a comedy club or at a cookout, laughter roars when a word is properly placed at the end of a story. Perhaps you have even been wounded by the words of the one you love who says you should just be friends. Depending how spoken or even arranged, words can evoke a multitude of emotions.

Growing up one of my favorite short stories was The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County. Whenever I read that Mark Twain classic I actually saw the frog jumping or the birds on a wire. Country music star, Tracy Lawrence does the same thing with his hit song, Paint Me a Birmingham. Too often when we think of “visual” we miss how words can be used to garner up pictures in our minds whether it’s imaginary such as the two examples given or from memories of our past. Words can produce a vast array of imagines transporting us to a whole other time in our personal history or even to a different world altogether.

Words are powerful and can move mountains no matter the source, be it an actor in a movie, a comedian on stage, your child in your arms, or just someone you pass on the street. So as you become a regular reader of this blog you will see words that will generate a lot of….well….everything. Perhaps you will laugh or remember a time or cry or just shake your head but you will see words that have been thought out and put together with you in mind. So from my mind (which can be a weird place) to yours, I hope you enjoy “Red Boots and a Smile”