What’s the Word for the Day?

I had the foresight to bring along a dictionary. You can always use a dictionary- to raise you up in your seat, stand on to reach for something up high, prop open a door, start a fire and look up some words. 

Words are pesky creatures- they run around like rats fleeing a sinking ship. We need dictionaries to keep words in line. Words can run but they can not hide from Webster. Of course, sometimes the rules can be a bit obtuse. My eyes glaze over as I examine all the options- noun, verb, adverb, adjective not to mention intransitive verb, synonyms and homophones. With that last category I’m surprised Webster hasn’t been banned in Florida. 

Anyway, words are useless without a community. They are meaningless when they are flying solo. With that in mind, I have the story in sight now. Those poor giraffes, tigers and lemurs. What a sight it was to see all the animals jumping into the water from the sinking ship. The giraffes seemed to be quite adept at the breast stroke with their strong front legs and long neck. I bet Noah thought that speck of dust on his glasses he was sighting was the north star. The shipwreck was just a tragic mistake. Poor Noah. He’ll lose his job for sure. 

Noah clearly had some problems with crisis management in addition to his poor navigation skills. Scanning the wreckage with my binoculars the crash site appeared to be strewn with boards and floating animals. In hindsight Noah should have been prepared with proper fitting life jackets. I don’t think the two skunks were happy as Noah tried to shove them into their life jackets. Oops, it appears that Noah is swimming rapidly away from them. 

As the fog rolled in I lost sight of the sinking ship. I kept searching the foggy horizon to catch sight of them again. I was enjoying a few bites of my peanut butter, pickles and tuna sandwich while I awaited their return to my line of sight. I reflected for a moment. It’s too bad that people no longer enjoy this fine sandwich. It used to be offered at all fine restaurants but it has lately dropped out of sight. 

There they are- the fog has lifted. Oh no, a large cargo ship is sailing towards the giraffes with a huge net on a long pole. It looks like they are trying to capture the poor beasts. I grabbed my rifle, looked into my sight and fired a few warning shots into the water just ahead of the ship’s bow. The sight of the captain frantically shouting orders on the deck made me smile. The cargo ship turned around and the giraffes continued their swim to shore. In hindsight, they would have been better off to entice the giraffes with fresh lettuce. 

I walked to the beach to meet the animals at the landing site. I expected them to greet me with a happy wag of tails and wings. I would be a sight for sore eyes. I had to admit, however, that I was a bit unsightly due to my week long scruffy beard acquired during long hours patrolling the beach over the past couple of weeks. 

I still thought the sight of me would be a relief to those poor animals. Unfortunately as they came ashore they also got sight of my US Border Patrol badge and fled down the beach. They were undocumented, no doubt. They faded quickly from sight. They would likely flee inland to blend in with family pets and farm animals. Maybe a little boy will take his new pet giraffe to school one day for show and tell. The teacher would probably drag out the school handbook and sight the “no pets allowed” rule. 

I went back to my sandwich and dictionary. Let’s see, where was I? Oh yes, the word for the day- “sight”.