The World (such as it is) At My Fingertips

I am a descriptive expositionist. No wait. It's okay. It's perfectly legal – at least for now. It merely refers to my style of writing. Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform. One important point to keep in mind for the author is to try to use words that clearly show what they are talking about. In writing a descriptive essay, you need to tell a story in such a way that the audience learns a lesson or gains insight. You need to describe a person, object, or event so vividly that the reader feels like they could reach out and touch it.

I have so many amazing online friends, with so many varied interests. My older son is a futurist. He believes that technology will make the world a better place. He sends me links to stories about medical nanotechnology, thorium reactors, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, 3-D graphine computer chips, and digital-human interfaces, NONE of which I understand. My younger son is an info-warrior and sends me links to stories about every conceivable government and shadow government conspiracy theory out there. I am friends with many gen-x-ers, and I feel their rage and frustration and they send me links to stories about everything that's going on in the world, and everything that's going wrong. Also, I have my own sources of news that keep me ultra informed and on top of developing stories.

I try to read as many as I can, and still find time to write. There are so many stories, but I keep reminding myself, I am not a media company, I simply write a blog for my own entertainment and for my grandchildren to have something to remember me by as they get older and I am gone. And of course for anyone else who's interested. In short, as I lay here flat on my back and in terrible pain, I see a world of tremendous hope and tremendous fear.

I have always remembered one thing that a writing professor of mine told me, that art is the selection of images, not the hoarding of images. So by necessity and design, I am selective in what I write about. In college I studied classic and modern literature and poetry (professionals write poems, amateurs write poetry), the mechanics of writing, speech and debate, and the importance of organization. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I have found that a word creates a thousand pictures.

One of my friends, a very sexy lady who suffers from the same neurological disease that I do, and lives near the beach in LA, recently sent me a link to the following story:

Just the other day, I was asked by a reporter what my favorite word was. Seems like a fairly simple question, right? Let me tell you just how un-simple this seemingly simplistic question really is.

Immediately, the word Evan blurted from my mouth. I love everything about what the word Evan means to me. I love how it sounds, I love how saying Evan makes me feel and clearly I love Evan. The reporter told me, “besides a name, give me your favorite word.”

So many different words came shooting through my mind, and it was nearly impossible for me to choose just one. Take a moment and think about it: Can you come up with your favorite word in the blink of an eye?

Beautiful, amazing, serenity, eternal … these words have such deep and profound meanings. They literally almost have a physical effect on me when I think about them.

Chalupa, bliss, serendipitous, Aborigine … all amazingly fun words to say out loud. Really, say them out loud three times fast and tell me that wasn’t a great time.

Family, laughter, peace … these words bring a certain personal comfort, and I love how they make me feel.

LOVE.

Suddenly, I realized the word love encompasses all of these words for me. I strive for love to be at the root of all things in my life, and I realized that LOVE is my favorite word.

So, what’s in a word? For me they’re filled with emotion, comfort and inspiration. Words have power — so use them wisely.

What’s your favorite word?

By Jenny McCarthy

Well said, Jenny. Well said.

"Uh hum. My eyes are up here..."