deflopping my creative muscle

Good Morning,

I was having dinner with my friend Martine, last week. Martine is a spirited, middle-aged woman from Belgium. As the conversation turned to the larger social sphere, I learned a new word. Martine shared with me how she had nursed her ailing mother back to health this summer and that things were okay because in Europe the (social) system is more "deflopped."

deflopped sounded bad but the context suggested that it was good.

I later learned that in French the word developed is pronounced developee (de ve lop pay) which through a mouth full of hummus in a Mediterranean restaurant can sound an awful lot like deflopped.

"Martine? Did you say deflopped?"

She turned, delighted but confused by my question. "Deflopped? No, eh..." she laughed, "developed...no, no Amandah in French, we say developee..."

This morning, to my ear, the word is still deflopped. : )

1. deflopped- (adj. de flopped) the meaning is negative. It means miserable, without hope.

e.g. In America, the economic system is deflopped. The social system is pretty deflopped too.

i guess this leaves the positive alternative...flopped.

2. flopped- (adj. flopped) full of promise, great optimism and hope.

e.g., I like Barack Obama because he's flopped. or...after work today i'm going to the gym to flop my muscles! (okay, it does not work in all situations).

my, uh, point?

I like new words. I've been deflopping my creative muscle lately and would like to offer up some neologisms (yes, i had to look that word up).

According to the on-line American Dictionary, neologisms are:

1. A new word, expression, or usage.
2. The creation or use of new words or senses.

What I've come up with are:

Neurological neologisms- words from my recent airport travel

McSquishy- (Mick Squishy) the taxi driver who quickly manages to get the wheelchair into the trunk (he has to squishy something to get the tires in)

Stuffication- the feeling you get when trapped next to a very chatty Danish woman on a business trip

Colostophobia- what you experience when she shares a little too much after her second glass of wine

Tipping- what you are NOT supposed to do in your sporty wheelchair but rather the money you give to the transport people

Toddlerizing- when security refers to all of your travel companions or friends as your mother...

Dope Pushers- usually young African American men (i'm just saying...these are the guys who get these jobs. the Biffs and Bradley's of the world are carrying bags at The Club). they are strong and full of too much energy. it comes out in ways such as...giving you, in the wheelchair, one GIIIIIANT PUSH...standing back, and then running after you to catch up before you stop and/or hit something...you know like a person, or a wall.

okay, and a few more from the grocery store parking lot (it was a long week)

Ass halted- when you get your ass halted by a stranger, usually well-meaning, who unapologetically grabs, pats, pulls or pokes you in the name of Jesus

BooBooism- closely related to toddlerizing this is when you ask someone with a SCI when is it going to get better? (hint: it's probably not)

Gohomeopathetic medicine- a phrase i would like to coin for anyone who wants to stick mudpacks on me

Hoprah- actually her name was Cathy but she had Hope and the self-assured vision of Oprah

Shamens- to me the equivalent of the biblical lepers. someone to be stayed away from but loved...people who view a disability or SCI as a shame and then promise you healing through prayer...and amens!

Noseyological research- this is similar to nosological research

(*nosology-The branch of medicine that deals with the classification of diseases.

*noseyology- the branch of human interest that seeks to define and understand disabled people in public).

I find it okay when someone's doing noseyological research one-on-one or at an in-private level but in the parking lot at Krogers it's off-putting.

When someone starts a conversation with

"How are you? I see you a lot. Do you have…MS? Is it CP?"

I know they are doing noseyological research.


Anyway,

I'd like to end with an example story to sum up, to see if you can identify or apply some of these terms BUT...I think this is probably enough "entercation" (entertainment and education) for one day... : )

Happy Monday,

Amanda : )

Head of Noseyological Research at the Institute of Wobbly People
in Columbus, OH
1-800-WHY-ME?? (toll free)
1-800-TOO-SEXY (fax)