We’ve been in Indiana and Ohio for Thanksgiving the last few days. Coming from Florida, it was a shock to the system when the wind chill recently dropped below 9° Fahrenheit. But is it too cold?
If you go by the headlines, the answer is yes. Of course, they have to add some drama to their spiel.
The guy in my illustration may think the icy rain makes it too cold. But if the snowman could speak, he may disagree. A nine-degree windchill may seem too frigid to a midwesterner, but it may sound like a heat wave in Barrow, Alaska.
Generalities can cloud your communications. Be specific when you describe a situation. Otherwise, your intended receiver may think you are too vague.
Lately, I’ve thought a lot about leaving a legacy. Perhaps that happens when you move to a new place. The people you leave behind must carry on. And you soon realize they can do rather well without you! It can be a humbling experience when the world doesn’t stop because you’ve moved elsewhere!
There is something within each of us that hopes we will be remembered long after we are gone. But the truth is, we are very mortal and entirely forgettable. Have you ever returned to your alma mater or childhood home to find there are new faces? Life carried on after you left. It’s nothing personal. It happens to all of us! Yet we all want to be remembered long after we are gone. What is the best way to leave a legacy?
Last month, I got to interview a pastor about a new ministry his church launched. I enjoyed writing it because it challenged some preconceived notions about how a ministry should serve its community. Here is a link to the Hope in Surprising Places Article.
I love the chance to write an article where faith and hope are present. As I’ve written before, I used to mix up the two terms. But it’s evident in the article that this church is bringing hope to its community through the active use of faith.
Has a loved one ever told such a good story that you suggested selling the movie rights? I’ve heard some wonderful stories about my family. That inspired me to draw and write this cartoon.
One of my fondest memories of my father-in-law was when we would drive all night to Florida. He would tell me stories about his childhood, his ancestors, and the lessons he learned through life’s struggles to keep us awake.
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.
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?
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