A few weeks ago, I wrote about our need to preserve humanity in this difficult time of COVID. This morning, after getting a message from a friend who teaches and is frustrated with the judgement and complaining she’s hearing only three days into our unprecedented school year, I started thinking about the lack of patience and grace in our current society. Thanks to technology and Tik Tok, we have developed short attention spans and short tempers. We are good at offering criticism and bad at offering praise.
So, for all of the people who are working extremely hard in this crazy time to improve the lives of people who might not appreciate your efforts, I share these words. I always attributed them to Mother Teresa. After doing research, I learned “The Paradoxical Commandments” were written by Kent M. Keith in 1968 as part of a booklet for student leaders. A version of them was written on a wall in Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, and that’s the version I share here:
Thank you to everyone working hard, and do not despair. Your efforts are appreciated!
What words of encouragement can you offer to teachers, healthcare workers, essential workers, public servants, and leaders in these difficult time? Thanks for sharing!
It’s a little crazy around here this weekend. My youngest child is turning 14 (HOW did that happen?). My daughter is FINALLY packing to move in to her college dorm tomorrow. And I’ve got just a few things to do. So I will keep today’s post brief, with a valuable piece of advice from New York Times opinion writer Liz Bruenig: log off.
Bruenig recently appeared on the podcast The Argument to discuss the intersection of religion and politics in America, and at the end of the show, she offered a recommendation. She pointed out that while we need to be wary of untrue, misleading information on the Internet, we also need to be aware of the negative effects of too much truthful, and discouraging, information. She said,
“I don’t think we’re actually particularly well-designed to cope with getting news of the entire world updated every 10 minutes on a live stream… It used to be the sole province of God to know a full accounting of all the human evil that was happening at any given time. Now it’s the province of any Twitter user, and it’s a heavy burden. So log off.”
Elizabeth Bruenig
Excellent advice, right? How do you handle the onslaught of information we are exposed to each day, especially in the challenging time of corona? Share your thoughts… and then log off and enjoy your weekend!
On our weekly walks, my friend Leslie and I discuss everything from protests and the pandemic to the best way to keep floors clean when you have four children and several pets.
This past Wednesday we pondered Hurricane Laura. Leslie updated me on the seriousness of the storm, mentioning that weather forecasters predicted an “unsurvivable storm surge”. Which prompted each of us to wonder, what exactly is a storm surge? If you don’t know either, the Word Nerd is here to set you straight!
Storm surge should not be confused with storm tide, which is the total observed seawater level during a storm. Storm tide = storm surge + astronomical tide.
Many experts believe that in coastal communities, storm surge is a bigger threat than wind to individuals and their property. Usually, almost half of the deaths during hurricanes are caused by storm surge. This is because storm surge makes flooding worse. The rivers and other waterways that usually drain to larger bodies of water will flow backwards, or inland, with storm surge. And the water that comes in with the storm as rain or as storm surge has no where to go – so it stays, flooding the land and destroying whatever is in its path.
Several factors affect the size of a storm surge, including the geography of the land where a hurricane hits, the bathymetry of the area, the tide cycle, the track of the storm, and the strength, speed and size of the storm. For example, if a hurricane hits low lying land, like that in Louisiana, water from a storm surge will travel farther inland. And if a storm hits at high tide, there will be more water to push inland because the water level is already high. Bathymetry (another new Word Nerd Word!) describes the depths and shapes of underwater terrain. So, for example, in a place with a shallow continental shelf (again, Louisiana) the storm surge could be more severe than in a place with a steep continental shelf, like Miami, Florida.
Scientists also believe that climate change has contributed to the severity of storm surges. With the global rise in sea level, storm surges have gotten worse.
If you’d like to learn more about storm surge, or see more helpful graphics, visit these sites:
Are there any other storm/ ocean / meteorology terms you’d like to learn more about? Got something interesting about storms to share? Please add to the comments!
Voting is one of the best ways you can participate in the wonderful democracy we call America. But this year, the pandemic and other factors have conspired to create a bit of crazy, so the best way to assure your voice counts in the 2020 election is to start preparing to vote NOW.
Voting is a basic right, but the process can be complicated. I’ve done some research, and although procedures vary by state, here are three things you definitely need to address in the next week or so if you are planning to vote. (And I hope you are!)
1. Find voting deadlines and requirements for your locality
It can go by a variety of names, but your local board of elections (or county recorder or local registrar) manages the voting process in your area. It handles everything from voter registration forms to hosting early elections. You can find it by searching “vote in _____ (your state or county)” or through your local area website. Through this office, you can find deadlines and forms needed for registering to vote and absentee voting.
your state election website (search “vote in ________ (your state)” to find it)
Through your local Board of Elections
contact them via phone, website, or in person for a registration form
Through the DMV
keep in mind that because of the pandemic, many DMV offices require an appointment and this might be the most time consuming route
3. Decide how you will vote
There are three ways to vote: in person on Election Day (November 3, 2020), by mail via absentee ballot, or in person by voting early at the local election office or designated location.
If you opt to vote in person, be sure to find out where your polling location is and what hours it will be open. Don’t forget to take your mask, as there will probably be lots of people standing in line. Be prepared to wait if you must. Many states require some form of personal identification to vote. Be sure you take appropriate ID with you to the polls.
If you opt to vote by mail via absentee ballot, find out right now what your state requires to obtain and return an absentee ballot. Some states might only let you vote by mail if you meet certain criteria, e.g. you are a college student or you have a medical condition. This year, because of the pandemic, states are being less restrictive. But because deadlines are approaching, and the mail can be slow, you do not want to put this off. Many states have an online form to request an absentee ballot. Check with your state’s election site or your local election board today.
You can also opt to vote earlyin person. I didn’t realize you could vote early until I did research for this post! In the state of Virginia, you can vote early at your local board of elections office, without needing a special reason, starting 45 days before Election Day and ending the Saturday before Election Day. This option exists in other states too. With all of the concern about the USPS getting ballots out and returned in time, I’m not sure why this method of voting isn’t getting more attention. So, if you are hesitant to vote in person and worried about mail in ballots, explore this option in your locality.
Helpful resources
I know it’s a lot of information, but remember, you need to cover three basic things: get information from your local board of elections, register to vote, and decide now how you will vote, because if it’s by mail, you need to get rolling on that now.
If you are computer savvy, there are plenty of websites out there to help. I liked https://www.vote.org/ because it had links to register, to check your registration status, to vote by mail, and to find your polling place. It also has links to state specific information; scroll down to the bottom of the landing page to find links to your state.
If you aren’t computer savvy, just find your local board of elections office and ask them for help. They should be able to give you all of the information and forms you need to vote.
Do you have questions about voting? Have you had trouble getting ready to vote? Do you have any tips to add? Please share!
Many factors of modern life are conspiring to steal our humanity, and that is particularly concerning now, when we need our humanity the most.
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, humanity is compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition; the quality or state of being humane. Unfortunately, these days I’m feeling a lack of sympathy and generosity, and I blame three main contributors.
First, social media. We foolishly think in this time of social distancing that Facebook posts or Instagram likes or Snap stories can keep us connected. We are wrong. Research shows that using social media can contribute to anxiety and poor self-esteem. It also shows that communication via texting cannot replace the benefits of actually having a conversation with someone, either as a voice call or an in-person discussion. A laughing emoji is a poor substitute for a smile on a loved one’s face.
Also, social media platforms reward extreme statements and strong ideological stances. They do little to encourage nuanced dialogue or empathetic interaction. Facebook claims its mission is to bring people together, but scrolling through posts and comments often reveals more vitriol than compassion. So while it continues to be wildly popular, social media does little to promote our humanity.
Second, and closely linked to the problem of social media, we have the current political climate. Politicians and leaders on both sides distill complicated issues into their simplest and most dramatic elements, leaving no room for discussion or compromise. An all or nothing mentality pervades public conversation, which dismisses moderation and suggests that every American must claim one of two opposing and hostile perspectives. Such a simplistic approach to policy and attitudes does not acknowledge our humanity.
Third, we are living in a pandemic, which means every day we are assaulted with data about the virus. We hear statements like, “over five million infected” and “at least 160,000 dead” so often that the numbers have lost their meaning. We fail to grasp that “160,000” includes wives, grandfathers, neighbors, and friends – unless we are forced to. Perhaps we don’t want to closely consider the human toll of this virus, because to do so would be too depressing.
Another unfortunate side effect of the coronavirus is that the very things we must do to prevent its spread – social distancing, limiting contact, wearing face coverings- also diminish our connection to each other. But social distancing does not have to mean social isolation. Now, more than ever, we must find safe and effective ways to connect that preserve public health as well as our need for interaction.
As humans, we are complicated and nuanced. We are inconsistent and conflicted, and yet we need each other, flaws and all, to survive. We must accept differences and discrepancies, both within ourselves and within our communities, if we are going to function as a society. We must humbly bring the best of ourselves to every interaction with the goal of bringing out the best in the people around us. That means showing compassion to those who are neglected and generosity to those with whom we disagree. That means calling instead of commenting, writing a letter instead of dictating a text, and showing up in ways that are safe and meaningful for people we love and people we don’t even know.
This Word Nerd loves learning about the meanings and origins of words, but not when she is trying to figure out health care coverage. There is a time and a place for lofty, interesting vocabulary, and it is not when one is trying to understand insurance benefits.
Daughter is hopefully starting college soon, and we are tackling paperwork, including a medical insurance waiver form, which sent us on a quest for deductible amounts and preauthorization fine print.
The insurance company website wasn’t terribly helpful, so I decided to call and speak to a person. Of course, I reached an automated answering service that called itself “The Aetna Concierge” and offered a list of menu of options including, “speak with a nurse case manager” and “speak with a health concierge.”
Daughter asked, “What the heck is a health concierge?”
Excellent question.
The word concierge comes from the French, probably an alteration of Latin conservus fellow slave, from com- + servus slave. According to Merriam-Webster, a concierge is:
a resident in an apartment building especially in France who serves as doorkeeper, landlord’s representative, and janitor
a usually multilingual hotel staff member who handles luggage and mail, makes reservations, and arranges tours
a person employed (as by a business) to make arrangements or run errands
Aetna, are you telling me that your customer service reps are going to run errands for me and set up tours? 🙁 I didn’t think so. So please, use language that people can understand. Give the option to speak to a customer service representative and stop trying to be fancy.
Fortunately, when I, on a guess, chose “health concierge” from the automated menu, I was connected to a woman who was able to promptly answer all of our questions. She was very helpful. Her title was not. Health insurance is complicated enough without unnecessary pretentious words. These days, especially during the pandemic, we need clarity and transparency. This is one situation when I don’t want to see a Word Nerd Word.
Sidebar: As we completed the paperwork, daughter stated, “I’ve been looking forward to being an adult for so long, looking forward to the freedom, only to figure out that it involves a lot of annoying paperwork.” I told her to enjoy college before the “full onslaught of adult crap” starts after graduation. She greatly appreciated my sage advice. 😉
What pretentious, over complicated, or confusing words have you come across lately? I’d be happy to tackle them for you here.
