If you look up the word TRIAD in the dictionary, you will find this as one of the definitions: A group of three connected people or things.
So today I offer you a triad of mini-reflections. This triad, this group of three, is only connected because they are all appearing here on my blog. With all the craziness in the world, I thought perhaps we all needed a bit of a break from things to worry about and you might enjoy these three things. Well, one of them we should worry about but the other two are just for your delight.
First, the one we should worry about.
Those Dangerous Dictionaries
You may already know that I love dictionaries. Yes, love is not too strong an emotion for how I feel about dictionaries. Thanks to the incredible generosity of two friends, I have the complete Oxford English Dictionary on the bookshelves here in our apartment. I also have my very well-used childhood dictionary. Yes, some of us actually read dictionaries for fun.
You can imagine that I was shocked and very disturbed when I recently read on one of the internet news services that Florida is going to ban dictionaries from being in schools.
A little more digging (thank you, SNOPES) told me that this is not totally accurate. The rumor took aim at Escambia County Public Schools, a district that covers the Pensacola area, and how it was responding to HB 1069, the law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023. While it was inaccurate to say district officials "banned" dictionaries, including Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus for Students, they did temporarily remove them from school libraries. They “temporarily removed” them to review their content for anything inappropriate, according to the district. Only no one seems to be able to define inappropriate or how temporary the temporarily removed is.
How can anyone be afraid of what children—or adults—will find in a dictionary? Here is the definition of a dictionary:
A reference source in print or electronic form containing words usually alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, etymologies, meanings, and syntactic and idiomatic uses.
It doesn’t exactly sound like a platform for porn, does it? So now people are afraid of words? That’s right words. We must protect our children from words. Yes, let’s make sure they grow up ignorant and illiterate. And is it against the law for me to have a dictionary in my home? Can you be arrested for looking up the definition of a word?
I hope the dictionaries—and education—survive.
Now on to the rest of the triad which is a bit more light-hearted.
Funny traffic signs
The Federal Highway Administration released new guidelines (in their 1,161 page Manual) urging officials to avoid funny highway signs as they are concerned they will confuse drivers. They didn’t really BAN funny signs but it is clear they don’t really like them.
I am not an official of anything, but I have to say I love funny traffic signs. If you are not sure about what I mean, here are a few examples.
Around Halloween, this sign was posted on a highway in Texas:
HOCUS POCUS—DRIVE WITH FOCUS.
One of my favorites was a sign in Ohio around the holidays:
VISITING IN-LAWS? SLOW DOWN, GET THERE LATE.
Here are a few more of my favorites":
And my very, very favorite from outside of Boston:
So I am going to disagree with the Feds on this issue. I think we could all use a little more funny these days.
Oh, Those Googly Eyes
In case you haven’t a clue of what I am talking about here, read this definition from Wikipedia:
Googly eyes, or wiggle eyes, are small plastic crafting items used to imitate eyeballs. Googly eyes traditionally are composed of a white plastic or card backing covered by a clear, hard-plastic shell, encapsulating a black plastic disc. The combination of a black circle over a white disk mimics the appearance of the sclera and pupil of the eye to humorous effect.
I can’t really explain why these always make me laugh but they do. I have a few friends (you know I’m talking to you, Jenny and family) who have taken googly eyes to a whole new art form. Take a look:
If you are struggling through these cold winter days, I strongly recommend you purchase a package of goggly eyes (you can find them at Michael’s or on Amazon) and apply them in a variety of locations. You will find yourself laughing whenever you find those little eyes staring back at you.
Here’s just a few more (and don’t hesitate to post your creations as you respond to this blog):
Very funny, Jeanne! Well, almost very funny. The dictionary thing may be the stupidest thing I have heard. Those kids might find words like breast! Or worse, uterus!! Or worst of all, penis!! 👁️ 👁️. We simply can't have our children seeing those words 😡
I love the funny highway signs! Their messages actually really sink in, as opposed to the generic Helvetica wallpaper.