One change I am trying to make now that I am retired is to do things more deliberately and thoughtfully. One example is to keep the dictionary at hand while I read. Rather than make some guesstimate of a meaning from context or be presumptuous that I know the meaning, I will take the time to look up a word, that is new to me or being used in a novel fashion. What this practice has taught me is that my palette of colorful speech terms is really quite limited. The second lesson is that the 1988 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary also has its limitations. This is where internet searches come into play and the online Dictionary of American Slang.

So. You ask, "what are you reading that juxtaposes the terms slang, colorful speech, and the expansion of one's vocabulary?" Please note. I am not referring to expressive speech, that is, vocabulary that I intend to incorporate into my regular conversations. I am referring to receptive speech, so that I can understand the words spoken and written by others. One might also presume that a brief stint in the Army 40 years ago would have been adequate lifelong preparation for all the colorful speech that one would ever need.

Let's return to the question: what am I reading? The answer. Poetry. Rob Ganson, a local poet, has published third collection titled: A Storm of Horses. The two earlier works are titled: Float like a Butterfly, Sing like a Tree and Follow the Clear River Down. Let me just say, this ain't your mother's poetry, unless your mother is a 60's radical updated to the new millennium.

Incidentally, guesstimate is in the dictionary and the noun form is guesstimate and not the more commonly heard guesstimation. That is, it is in the 1988 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary. I may check online later now that I have the time to be more deliberative and thoughtful. Please note. I did not claim to be spending the additional available time in only productive or worthwhile activities.

Apparently, I think dictionaries are cool. How many grandpas gift their six-year-old grandson with a dictionary as a Christmas present? I do. I did. That is a subject for a later post, along with the thoughts on being married to a grandma, who tolerates such behavior.

A second incidentally, guesstimate is in spell check; guesstimation is not. How cool is that?