"Much of their language remained unchanged. Some words were straight out of Shakespeare: sallet for salad, sech for such, and afeard- a word Lady Macbeth used. They rhymed yet with wit, and changed it to hit for emphasis- just as Chaucer did. They used double words for clarity's sake- biscuit-bread, ham-meat, ham-bacon, toad-frog, tooth-dentist, church-house, and granny-woman (midwife). An irritable man was techous, and a spotted horse was piedy. A lazy man piddlediddled his life away; an energetic one worked from kin-see to cain't-see. Some picturesque expressions evolved: morn-gloam, dusty-dark, a nothin'-doin' sort of day. A man given to boasting about his travels was journey-proud. And since Scots seldom made generalities, they would qualify: "Least I've heared it that way all my life," or "I never knowed it to happen out that way." I have started reading a book called The Man Who Moved a Mountain, about the life of Bob Childress. It is the biography of a mountain man of the Blue Ridge who turns preacher. So much in the book has had me reflecting on my own life. Many of the words just shared are ones from my childhood. Many of the traits and characteristics of people I can find in my own family and self. Much has changed in the last generation- I believe because of better roads and television- so that those growing up now would probably not know these things. My own husband- city-raised - doesn't remember many of them. But he has been on mission trips to Appalachia, Deep Appalachia, and he has seen so much with his own eyes. People waste their lives with drugs and alcohol because they don't see any future, and know nothing else from the past. My family escaped that; none were given to drink and education was esteemed. But just down the road, in any direction, you could find the characters of this book. I am sure I will write more about it. ___________________ I have #1 in my drama class in co-op. Yesterday was our first class, and he is really quite good. He knows how to make an entrance, how to add a little drama, can provide direction to others. I was impressed. He also has been doing well in our poetry unit we started this week. He has a way with words, and knows how to paint a feeling with words.