Category: writing

Categories
Creative Writing writing

A Perfect Storm of Perfect Storm Clichés

A perfect storm of perfect storm clichés

The other day, I heard it again. Someone on a news segments said such and such is a “perfect storm.” It was the first time that week I heard this and it wasn’t about the same topic. It is time we officially admit we have a problem with the perfect storm cliché.

unrecognizable person with umbrella on beach
Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava on Pexels.com

I went to Google and searched the phrase, “perfect storm.” The results didn’t surprise me. As of January 15, 2022 there are…

Mind you, I expect some of the general search to be about the real life event, the book by Sebastian Junger, and movie. If you search this phrase on Amazon, you get over 930 results. However, are we getting to the point that it is losing its meaning?

News reporters and interviewees are using this cliché to describe supply chain issues, the pandemic, inflation, worker shortages, data privacy, crimes, climate change, and yes, weather events. How many perfect storms can there be? Is everything perfectly stormy now?

Perfect Storm Cliches or Clichés?

It may look pretentious to add the accent mark in “cliché”. But it is one of those words English speakers have borrowed from French. Can anybody pronounce it correctly with the accent mark? Without it, most of us would go around saying “Klich.” Nobody wants that!

I like clichés. They have served me well over the years as an illustrator and cartoonist. I have always loved to take something we have come to expect and turn a phrase or situation into the unexpected. Phrases become clichés because they are so popular, everyone begins to use them.

I don’t recall us having a perfect storm cliché problem before the book and movie came out. However, thanks to Wikipedia, I found that “Perfect Storm” has been used at least since the eighteenth century. There must have been something about the 1991 storm that captured the imagination of Americans. Now we can’t help but describe any bad situation as a perfect storm. I don’t know if the phrase is becoming so overused, it has lost its impact and meaning.

However, what I do know is that so many people have been using the phrase in the last couple of years. Is it starting to lose its meaning? Maybe I shouldn’t care that much, but when I heard it again, the cliché began to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Wait, I am using another cliché to complain about a cliché. I’m not being very helpful, am I?

Categories
writing

What About You, Quiet Guy?

"What About You, Quiet Guy?"

I have no problem admitting it. I’m one of the quiet guys. I wouldn’t call myself, the strong silent type, but I can definitely be the silent, observant one.

The other night, my wife and I were out with friends. We were having a good time cutting up and catching up on the lives of kids and grandkids. The waitress came over to get our orders. When it was my turn, she said, “And what about you, Quiet Guy?”

I thought that was quite amusing, yet it took me by surprise. It’s not that I didn’t think the moniker fit. Anyone who has known me can confirm that I’m rarely the boisterous one in a group. Well, that is until I get in front of a group and I can command attention! I love being the loud one when I teach or act. It’s partly because it takes anyone who knows me by surprise.

What surprised me was that she knew that trait about me after a very short time. Plus, I thought I was far from quiet. I was involved in my friends’ conversations and I was participating. However, to an outside observer, I was the quiet one in the group.

Quiet Kid

There was a time when that would have bothered me. I wanted to be the class clown. But I didn’t have the courage and I would have been mortified if it got back to my parents that I disrupted a class. It was much safer to live vicariously through the true class clown.

So instead of being known as the loud student, I was the kid who doodled on the back of assignments and stared out the window. I was the kid that tried to absorb the details of a story and think about what would happen if one detail was different.

Eventually, that led me to be the class cartoonist. I loved seeing my work in print. I noticed that while the class clown got sent to the office, teachers and professors considered the class cartoonist a journalist. What? You could make a living at this?

I have made a good living at it over the years. But for the last several years, I ventured more into writing and less into illustrations and cartoons.

The Quiet Guy

I have plenty to say, but that doesn’t mean I want to be the talker. I like to let my fingers do the talking. And frankly, it’s more fun to get my ideas out on a page and massage them a bit. It is too easy to say something that I may regret later. A flippant comment can wound. Plus, I can edit my written text to say what I want it to. There is value in thinking and considering what I want to say before it goes out to the world.

Maybe I am not always the most talkative guy in the room, but that doesn’t mean I have little to say. Today, I am thanking a waitress for reminding me of the value of the spoken and written word.

Categories
writing

Keep it Simple

Today is Charles Staple Lewis’ birthday. He was born on this day 123 years ago. I encountered his writing when I wanted a great series of books to read with my children. I soon found out how he had a gift for writing profound concepts in a simple manner. This quote by Lewis reminds me to

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

C. S. Lewis via BrainyQuote.com

I have to watch this because when I learn a new word, I can feel tempted to find a way to wedge it into a sentence. For instance, today’s Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day is obfuscate. On one hand, it is the perfect word to describe what C. S. Lewis was talking about. It means, to make something more difficult to understand.

On the other hand, why would I want to use that when I could just say, “keep it simple?” What is the purpose of using complicated, rarely-used words when a simple one will do?

Therefore, I will try to honor Lewis by avoiding words that are too big for the subject. Keep it simple, Kevin!

Categories
Blog Articles CHOG News Christianity Newsletters writing

Legacies and Households of Faith

I had the pleasure of writing about two pastors with a legacy of faith at CHOGNews: Household of Faith: Pastors Cherish a Long Legacy in the Church of God

Household of Faith: Pastors Cherish a Long Legacy in the Church of God

Similarities

Both pastors had compelling stories on how their legacies affected their call to ministry.

Both pastors emphasized while their family lineage was something to cherish, neither was called just because it was the family business. In fact, they may have hesitated because they didn’t want to enter ministry simply because it was expected of them.

Different Paths

But each traveled on different journeys. to get there.

One pastor ran from his calling and lived a life far from God until he was called back to faith and ministry. It’s a compelling story of redemption. He has been near death twice. He has a testimony that maintains nobody is too far gone to be saved.

The other pastor felt the call after he had been out in the workforce for three years. His career was flourishing, but he found the call to ministry irresistible. He has benefited from the mentorship of his father and is passing that legacy to the next generation.

Families of Origin

I resonated with their stories because, though I haven’t been called to pastor a church, my grandfather was a pastor. I felt similar pressure to perhaps go into ministry because of my legacy. Now mind you, nobody placed that pressure on me but myself. Still, I felt it and didn’t want to succumb to it just because it was part of my ancestry.

At the same time, the legacy of my parents, grandparents, and preceding generations had a profound impact on my life and the lives of my children. While only my maternal grandfather was a pastor, all faithfully lived their lives in powerful ways.

Legacies are important facets of our lives. They don’t totally define us, but they are a part of us. Some of us have great legacies that can be cherished. Others are working through baggage brought on by our family history. Every family has some skeletons in their closet—even good families.

We are not ultimately defined by our past, though it is part of our definition. We can embrace the good aspects of our family of origin and learn from the less than the pristine side of our family of origin.

Today, we have an opportunity to affect our future generations. If we are called, we can answer that call. If we need to address the sins of the past, let’s do it and give the following generations a good start. It reminds me of a song by Steve Green, May all who come behind us find us faithful.

Categories
Blog Articles motivation

When things change, find a new melody

As I get older, it’s fun to see friends and peers reinventing themselves. Pivoting has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic and many people have done just that. I wrote this article about two musicians that found their place during the pandemic.

Jay and Amy Rouse Find a New Melody

I especially like one piece of advice Jay gave to musicians. It is something we can all benefit from.

Jay encourages [musicians] to plan, but be flexible. “It’s everybody’s motto these days. And it’s never been truer: live with open hands.”

Article: Jay and Amy Rouse Finds a New Melody

Our best-laid plans were upended in 2020. Everyone has had to find a way to live and work in an alternative way. Some of us have struggled while others have been able to make it work. Resilience and the willingness to change have made a big difference when it has felt like the world was falling apart.

Life rarely goes the way we hoped it would. There are happy surprises as well as unpleasant ones. The future is rarely as predictable as we would like to think it is. Even as there are signs of improvement in COVID vaccines and the economy, we will face some setbacks along the way.

Live with open hands. Find a new melody. Be flexible. It is great advice now and will be great advice in the near and distant future.