Some words are overused, and some aren’t used often enough

FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Sam Houston is the publisher of the Hood County News. He is also an actor, author, playwright, performer and entertainment producer/promoter.

Sometimes words are overused. I admit I want to pull my hair out when I hear someone repeatedly use the word “like” in a sentence. For example: “Like I was going down the street and like I saw my friends and like we went into the movie.” I appreciate this is contemporary slang and a lot of young people speak this way, but I keep finding myself wanting to say, “Did you really go into the movie, or “like” did you not?” I wish people could hear themselves!

Nowadays the word awesome is so overused it makes me shake my head in dismay. I don’t think every sandwich. a pair of socks, nor most everything else that happens to a person in the course of an ordinary day needs to be described as such.  If a person utilizes “awesome” to describe most everything, what do they say when something is truly extraordinary?

One word in our society that is not used often enough is “kindness.” Kindness is defined by Webster as the human quality for being considerate, friendly and generous. I love seeing kindness in action and I work hard to practice kindness in my own life.

The past week placed my dear friend and second Mother, Miss Jayne, in an assisted living facility. She is 90 and it was simply time for her to be in a place where she could have some help when she needed it. Jayne had lived for more than 60 years in the same house and the thought of leaving the homestead she and her husband Marcus had built was tough. It caused her a lot of stress and discomfort. Add to this, and I mean this with all my love and affection, Miss Jayne is accustomed to being in control and giving the orders. The contemplation of going someplace where she might have to conform rather than dictate, was difficult for her.

Jayne got moved and is settling in nicely, A lot of that has to do with the kindness of that facility’s maintenance man, Richard. When Jayne was moving in, Richard was there to mount the TV on the wall, to hook up the cable, and do a thousand other little things she needed him to do.

What separates Richard from most is that you can tell by his actions and his words, he is a kind man. Even after Miss Jayne was totally moved in, Richard would stop by her room and visit for a minute and ask her how she was doing, and whether he could do anything to help her. Richard is the epitome of kindness. He made quite an impact with Jayne, and it gave her a friend in new surroundings.

I wrote a note to the management of the facility, commending Richard and suggesting they would be crazy if they ever let Richard go. He is one of the best things at the Wheeler Place in Gainesville. The world needs more Richards. He is terrific! In fact, he is like“awesome!”

Thought for the day: Wherever there is humanity, there exists the opportunity for kindness.

Until next time ...

sam@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 260