Monday, January 05, 2009

V is for Vocabulary

A slavish concern for the composition of words is the sign of a bankrupt intellect.—Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth (from the Humbug to the Spelling Bee)

I just hung up the phone, but I’m still laughing.

A company representative called here to get my younger sister’s new mailing address and her new last name. It’s a short name—four little letters (which is a bargain after spelling Langefeld your whole life). I always thought it was easy to spell, but the poor man on the other end of the line couldn’t hear me at all.

After three tries, he still had a completely different last name for her, so I resorted to the usual “A as in apple! B as in bear! C as in cat!” technique. It feels like giving a kindergarten lesson, minus the fabulous picture books.

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Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 01/05 at 01:57 PM
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