Old School Writer Catching Up With Digital Communication

Would Shakespeare approve of the world’s new digital communication?

I’m a wordie who, curiously, has never used the word before now. It’s a recent addition to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary along with sub-tweet, life-hack and casual approximations of speech such as hmm, ooh, and mm-hmm. All nods to our ever-evolving lexicon.

Deciphering Shakespeare’s early English vernacular in high school helped me see communication in a new way. He was a wordie as well, creating hundreds of words and often shortening others to suit his poetic writings. ‘Tis, oft and o’er are familiar shortened words while ope and gi may require a google check but the spelling is correct. Read more

Unspoken

Bernice-sunset

The beautiful day beckoned us to the water and the boat.  November on Rainy Lake is usually blustery or foggy but this crisp, sunny morning was perfect for a run to Fawn and John’s cabin.  It felt like the four of us had the lake to ourselves, not another soul did we see.

Unencumbered with luggage and supplies, we cruised swiftly over the waves, our coffee thermos and wine bottles sitting alongside John’s portable oxygen tank.  It was to be a brief trip; just long enough to relax on the deck for a few hours and pick up guitars that shouldn’t be left there for the winter.

Picking up the guitars was a good excuse to take one more trip; to bask in the familiar comfort of best friends and let the ritual of heading up the lake mark the beginning of our goodbye to John.  Because what we all knew but no one said was that, short of a miracle, this would be the last time all four of us would be together.

Read more