Don't Say a Word!
Do remember the 1983 classic film ‘The Christmas Story’- most particularly the scene when Ralphie was accused of letting loose the ‘F’ bomb which elicited the harshest of responses? I sure do:
Ralphie: Ohhhh fuuudge!
Ralphie as an adult: [narrating] Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the "F-dash-dash-dash" word!
The Old Man: [stunned] What did you say?
Ralphie: Uh, um...
The Old Man: That's... what I thought you said. Get in the car... Go on.
Ralphie as an Old Man: [narrating] It was all over - I was dead. What would it be? The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The rack? Water torture? Hmmph. Mere child's play compared to what surely awaited me.
Growing up it was a word we wouldn’t even dare to whisper let alone let it roll while any ears were within an earshot. It was a word that held an unspeakable power. Now it seems to have made it into the top 10 most popular words of all time-easily articulated through the most refined of lips. You may hear it now among friends, neighbors and family members- around the town, at doctor’s office, among receptionists, waiters, store clerks…generally anywhere. It can be a word of anger, emphasis, stress, frustration, surprise, annoyance, irritation, amazement, impatience, and perhaps just a suggestion. And you’d be hard pressed to find a comedian that didn’t think the word wasn’t able to unleash some covert comedic response.
Trained early not to let the word become part of my everyday vocabulary, my ears still bristle when it is unleashed- it still holds some clout- an ancestral barbed wire, an ‘only release in time of shear emergency’ warning. Although it may render power to those who utilize it, it may also leave a small dark cloud behind. Like the UV powder used to detect thieves-a little bit of residue remains in the air and on the lips. Or maybe I’m just old-fashioned. Perhaps the word just is appreciated as an acceptable way to let off steam and express yourself - making stress more manageable.
I’m sure it’s generational- some things are just hard to let go of. Perhaps the reins were held more tightly back then – the parameters clearly defined and expectations distinct. We may have been allotted more space and fresh air - and fewer spatial boundaries- but there was a codebook that we lived by which didn’t afford us much wiggle room.
Today, the ’F’ bomb seems to have lost its power as a word that for so long shook the universe. I guess that is what happens when a word drifts into a state of overuse and commonality. Say it enough and it becomes vanilla, pasty, predictable. And then we will have to wonder, what word will take its place? I can think of a couple -but I don’t dare say them out loud.