Listening to a Book

When I saw the book, ’1776’ by David McCullough I wanted it. It's about the conflict between General George Washington and the British commander William Howe.

So, when my wife went to one of those discount stores I asked her to see how much it was and let me know. She called with the price and told me they had it on CD’s which I might like better because of the amount of driving I do. I told her I would think about. She went ahead and bought me the audiobook.

I just completed it. It’s a great book but there is a hidden danger. Much of the book is made up of quotes from American and British archives including letters and journals. It altered the way I talked for several days. I took on a vocabulary flare of 1776. Some examples are:

When asked,”What’s going on?” I would tell the person and then reply, “To what great matters are you directing your efforts?” Not your typical follow-up question.

When asked how the meeting went I started replying, “I gave no utterance to his word” or “I inclined their hearts to listen and engage anew.” That stopped a few people in their tracks.

When my wife asked if I was coming to bed, she just shook her head when I said, “I will travel with Godspeed to be at your side”.

It’s a great book. If you like history, you will enjoy this book. Therefore, until I have liberty to write again I bid thee farewell.