Is that right? Two-thirds of the way through June already? Wow, that went by fast. How do I slow this thing down? I’ve still got some preparations to make for next month’s Firehouse Expo, so I’d better work on those this week. I hope you’re planning on cruising over to Baltimore July 21 to 26 and taking advantage of some of the great offerings they’re serving this year. And of course, stopping by our booth to say “hello” and let us meet you.
Off on another tack now, I’ve noticed for a while that whenever a building that is more than 40 years old burns, the newspaper or tv station always calls it the “historic xxxxx building.” 98% of the time there’s nothing historic about it. It just happens to be older than the reporter’s Daddy, so they label it. Usually nothing of importance happened there other than it survived that last fire that hit downtown.
Things like that concern me because it promotes a cheapening of the language whenever you dilute the meaning of a word like that. An extreme example of that is the grossly-overused word “awesome.” A perfectly good word that has a very specific and narrow definition having to do with being struck by dread inspired by a deity. A word that should only be used 3 or 4 times in your lifetime. But now it is a universal adjective that’s dropped on to anything that happens such as the sun rising in the East.
It looks like “historic” could be losing its meaning also. Part of it is greed, such as being able to apply for cash grants to refurbish “historic” sites. By expanding the definition of the word, you can expand your opportunity to take other people’s money for your own pet project. There are several definitions of the word that are legally in use to meet certain criteria, but they all basically agree that “historic” applies to one or more of the four following criteria:
- A location where a significant event took place that had a profound effect on the populace. The site of the World Trade Center became a historic site on Sept. 12.
- A location that is associated with the life of a person who played a significant role in our past. A simple bungalow that was the birthplace of a former President of the U. S. is such an example.
- A site that may contain important evidence relating to past events or pre-history, such as an archeological site.
- A structure that has such a defining example of a unique architectural style or feature that makes it representative of a defined time or location. Well-preserved neighborhoods of Colonial-era towns are often given the title because of their ability to portray an urban landscape that cannot be duplicated.
So why do the reporters and scribes toss the word onto almost anything that has a few years on it? I think it’s partly because they want to sensationalize the event just enough that their story will get noticed. And it’s also a result of the degrading level of education that has been taking place over the past three decades and people are not being given the vocabulary skills that are necessary to be good communicators.
I’m probably not a great communicator either, but that stuff still bothers me. Speaking of communicating and definitions, let’s review these two terms: “Equipment check” and “More coffee!”
