I've been trying to wrap up the financial aspect of my father's life. Most of the pieces are falling into place. The taxes are done. I've figured out that there will never be enough to pay the bills. So that's how that goes. I spoke (again) today with the woman who works in the Benefits Office at his former employer. I asked her (again) to give me an update on one of his policies. She hemmed and hawed (again) and finally told me that she'd lost his death certificate.
Silence from me. I could hear her clear her throat on the other end of the line. I finally told her that I was flabbergasted.
Isn't that a great word? Flabbergasted just about said it all. I could have said flummoxed, but flummoxed doesn't roll off the tongue as easily. It kind of gets stuck in there behind what could be an impending pucker and then comes out as a guttural something or other that doesn't pack that much punch. No, flabbergasted was perfect.
She told me she'd fix this mistake as soon as I get another copy to her. I will - tomorrow.
After I hung up the phone, I decided to come up with a few more words that I like today. They are, in no particular order:
slink,
ashram,
hullaballoo,
fizzle,
and
clobber.
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Some of the best words, in my opinion, are those you say in moments of the release of tension. Of course, some of those are too rude to publish on the Internet, but "bugger" is one of my favourites. (I believe that may be a Britishism, though.)
ReplyDelete"Bollocks", curiously enough, doesn't work. I think it's the hard 'k' sound at the end of the word, it brings you up short just as you're getting to the big finish.
Thank you for the thoughts.