The Dictionary

Anyone out there familiar with a dictionary? Yes, that thick and

heavy volume of paper loaded, jam-packed, chock-full of words,

words like jam-packed and chock-full, an impressive collection of

terms compiled under the good name of Merriam Webster, a per-

son about whom very few of us know even the slightest bit.

Well, when I was growing up way back in the dark ages of mankind

(the 1950s) dictionaries were all the rage. Just about every home,

office and school in the free world had at least one dictionary. It was

your tour de force to the wondrous world of words, not just the de-

fining of words, their origins, parts of speech and phonetic pronun-

ciation, but relating how to correctly spell the blamed things.

And as a youngster versed by my elders in the finer points of diction-

ary usage, I had a difficult time understanding how to find the correct

spelling of a word you didn’t know how to spell. I mean, that’s the

whole point of having a dictionary in the first place, no?

Well, for those of you who were brought up in this enlightened age

of computers, and to those who utilize word programs with spell-check

check, all you need do is roughly type in the word you’re needing, and

chances are it will be correctly transformed before your very eyes.

No more is there a need to be like me of the past, trying to figure

out how to find a certain word when you can’t spell the damned

thing in the first place. Modern technology today has all but elimi-

nated the need for a humongous, hard-covered, boat anchor of a

book to assist one in the definition and proper spelling of words.

Any good spell-cheek program can do the same. Well, almost, butt

sometimes not quit. I thank you get what I mean.

Oh, and then there are the proof reading and editing functions after

all the proper words are in place. Next time, we’ll disgust the impor-

tance of those.

Chris Hanch  9-24-15