Getting Ready

Response to prompt #64: Language of the Times

First up, true confession: 

When I first read this prompt, now two months ago (yikes!), I was super excited. A self-professed logophile (c. 1923) the idea of looking at what words entered the language of society and when sounded intriguing and well, fun. I couldn’t wait to get started. The Merriem-Webster Time Traveler was waiting, and I had my ticket to a journey through the past. Next up was deciding which year to visit. My birthday? Nah, too predictable.

Side note: I did go back and look later... LOTS of new words the year I was born. Check it out. Among the words born the same year as me: underwire (hmm...that doesn’t seem like coincidence); video game, pro-choice, and edutainment. Many more, definitely as signs of the time ie: Watergate).

I considered the year I got married, the year my son was born, the year I met my husband, and of course high school graduation. Nothing was inspiring me. I felt like each time I tried, I ended up singing “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in my head. So I left the prompt many times and went on to other things. I thought for sure inspiration would come eventually. But it didn’t. It really hasn’t, still.

Continuing the quest, I looked at combinations of years and progressions of years (Suppose I was overthinking it a bit?), and noticed a few things. The longer I went back, the more words were attributed to a particular year. It seems we have added less and less in recent years. This begs the question, are we generating fewer new words or are we being more selective about those which are added to the dictionary? And by we, I mean the editors of the Merriem-Webster dictionary? (See snark, c. 1999). Another thing I noticed is how many of these words have evolved from advances in medicine and technology. Bio marker, 1973, Chemobrain 1991 and e-waste 1999.

I was also surprised certain words were as new as they are. Refinance and regift, for example, 1995 and USB and instant message same year. I never would have guessed that. Mixtape is also from 1995. Really? I guess it just took that long for the Merriem-Webster folks to add it to the dictionary. Still other words were older than I might have expected. Cybersecurity from 1989, and cybercrime, cyberspeak, and cybersex, all 1991. That really threw me for a loop, because most people didn’t even have home computers in 1991. I remember because I graduated high school that year, and I didn’t even have a computer until well after I graduated college and started graduate school.

Truly, this was interesting, and in the end I decided to focus on some pop culture and everyday living words from the 5 years I graduated high school, college, grad school 1, 2, and 3. These years are: 1991, 1995, 1999, 2011, 2013. I guess it’s a bit of a vignette. You all know how I feel about writing fiction!

Getting Ready

Emma sucked down her Slurpee so fast, she had to nurse the brainfreeze for at least two whole songs on their favorite mixtape, her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth. What a freakin’ timesuck when they had little time to get ready for the concert of their life. Laura knew her bestie Emma was out there, but if she was looking for a buzz why not a whippit or a good old fashion jay?

Emma flipped through the clothes in her closet dismissively, some of them still with tags. “How about this one?” she asked Laura.

“Hell no!” Laura barked back at her. I’ll look like a hoochie in that. Besides, my boobs would fall out of it in the mosh pit. You know I want to bodysurf to the stage.

“I know,” Emma said with an eye roll. “You gotta get to the stage to...

“At least touch Eddie’s shoes” they said in unison. They both laughed.

“Well you better at least put something over those granny panties, in case you make it back stage. Here, I think Eddie would like this.” Emma held up a lacy pair of g-string underwear.

“Why is there no moderation with you, Emma? Seriously? If it’s not made of floss and has any fabric, you call it granny panties. Keep your floss, I’ll stick with my Vickie’s Secret lace. Thank you very much.”

The girls finished getting dressed and stepped in front of each other the way you do a mirror when you’re trying on clothes. They slapped their hands together and latched onto each other with laced fingers, holding on tight. Laura began her usual self body shame and asked if she was light enough for the mosh pit to carry her to the stage. Emma reminded her as best friends do that she is perfect just the way she is. 

They leaned into one another and put their faces up close so the tips of their noses were just barely touching. “Remember,” Laura said. “No drinks from people we don’t know. We arrive together, we go home together.” They had a pact when they went clubbing or to concerts, and they always stuck to it. Stories of date rape drugs were on the news just about daily, and they had a healthy fear of guys who were all too eager to supply free drinks. Their favorite nightlife blogger recently warned of a spike in local clubs, and encouraged women to stick to the buddy system. No sweat for these two. They were attached at the hip anyway.

“One last check,” Emma said. “How do I look?”

“Hang on, you need a little bling.” They each added some earnings and left the bracelets behind.

“Perfect. Let’s Jam!” And they were off.