Dimon Kendrick-Holmes: One word is enough

The Literacy Alliance celebrated its 25th anniversary by asking folks around town to name a word that has inspired them, then publishing all of them in a book that it released last week at a party.

Held at the library, of course.

Picking a word -- and then announcing it in front of God and everybody -- is a daunting task, and Barbara Moushon, executive director of the Literacy Alliance, gave participants the option of choosing a phrase instead.

Moushon's word, after all, was "kindness."

In response to her kindness, lots of people offered up phrases, among them:

Sam Wellborn: "The time to cross a river is before it gets too wide."

Bill Turner: "Happiness is having someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to."

Dan Amos: "Where is your treasure?"

Unlike his boss, the Aflac duck, also included in the book, opted for a single word: Aflaaaaaaac!

I'm partial to the one-word strategy myself, and have been since taking Southern Literature at the University of Georgia under Hubert McAlexander.

I was in graduate school and was enjoying reading great authors and learning from great professors. The drawback was class discussion, which involved listening to the ramblings of fellow students and rambling too much myself.

But McAlexander's classes were different. He'd ask us to sum up whatever we were studying -- maybe a Welty story or a chapter of Faulkner -- in a single word.

If your word surprised him, he might nod and maybe even chuckle. If it were stupid, he'd look puzzled, wondering how you got into college. If you forgot the rules and started speaking in sentences, he'd raise his hand and you were done.

Sometimes you really can say more with less.

The Literacy Alliance's book, called "Words That Have Inspired Me," thankfully contains quite a few one-word offerings.

David Lewis, superintendent of the Muscogee County School District, chose "perseverance." Betsy Covington, president of the Community Foundation, went with "philanthropy." Mayor Teresa Tomlinson selected "marathon," as in "life is a marathon, not a sprint."

There were plenty of words summing up character traits or sound business principles: Honesty,

respect, mentoring, transformation, connectedness, excellence and significance.

Flipping through the book, though, I found myself wanting to be surprised.

Two members of the clergy didn't disappoint. The Rev. Jimmy Elder, pastor of First Baptist Church, offered "copacetic." The Rev. Cynthia Cox Garrard, minister of program at St. Luke United Methodist, tossed out "perspicacious."

Look 'em up.

Miller Robson, weatherman at WLTZ, served up "smile," and Columbus Councilor Judy Thomas, went with "cousin." Turns out she has 19 cousins on her father's side.

I thought the hands-down winner was Anne King, executive director of Midtown Inc.

Ornery.

"Because it's fun to say," she explained, "and it gives levity to ill-temper."

Dr. Mac would be proud.

Dimon Kendrick-Holmes, executive editor, dkholmes@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Dimon Kendrick-Holmes: One word is enough ."