Suspect this is NOT what the Reader's Digest folks were driving at all those years ago with their notes about 'more picturesque speech', but it's a whole lot easier to remember and more fun to read. Having read the news account twice and the summary of the actual study, I'm surprised it's not louder at Norwich City Council meetings-from the gallery, I mean. (Some nights it's a bit loud from the front of the room, and warmer, too.)
I'm not suggesting we should sponsor contests to see if we can peel the paint from the walls in Council chambers, in terms of the coarseness of the language, though that idea is tempting and oddly comforting. I'm just not sure we can organize the logistics of Council meetings so there's an even distribution on all surfaces as we move the citizens from side to side, and not just along the back wall near where I sit.
Of course, true confession time, I do think of some (perhaps) technicolor participles and anatomically difficult aerobic exercises, but I strive to NOT speak them aloud while processing those thoughts-at least not too loudly. Like many of us, I have had instances in the past where my evil twin, Skippy, (what my Imp of the Perverse tends to answer to) has confused inside and outside voice and my ears have heard my mouth say things that I had truly hoped would remain secret.
Now, if I can just work hypoalgesia into a sentence, ideally a limerick, it'll be a banner day.
-bill kenny
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