A couple of days ago, while scrolling through my Instagram account, I came across a graphic posted by a former, high-achieving student focused on the word "gruntled."
"Why does nobody use this word?
I'm so gruntled to have found this."
Well, I had to agree with Elle.
That was more than likely the first time I had ever seen the word.
My first thought was that I'd better add it to my bag of vocabulary.
The best way to learn and own a word is to use it.
So, let's just consider being gruntled today.
First off, we should have reasons to claim that we are gruntled.
So, what are mine?
Well, I went for a nice walk yesterday and that was after spending some time with an impressive young lady who will be the subject of one of my upcoming stories in Sandpoint Magazine.
Yup, it was a "go-to-town" day, which is becoming a rare occurrence for me.
I felt very gruntled after visiting with my new friend and thought that since I was in town, why not make more of the trip.
So, I went looking for a longtime friend, who was not home. Yes, I was feeling mildly disgruntled.
But wait!
She lives in the south part of town, and since my car was pointed toward Lakeview Park, that's where I went.
Parking in the museum lot, I set off through the Native Plant Society's tour, stopping occasionally to read signs or to take pictures.
It was truly a gruntling experience, admiring all the care taken to provide attractive educational displays about the plants and shrubs in our area.
From there, I moved on to the area south of War Memorial Field/Barlow Stadium.
The new parking lot and the passageway to the boat launch have been completed, all with a tasteful touch of loveliness in the form of perennial flower displays.
The walk provides a view of the Long Bridge, the railroad bridges and the Cabinet Mountains, where smoke plumes from the Trestle Creek Complex were visible.
A pontoon boat load of passengers came in to the launch during my visit. And, near the dock, ducks were swimming about or exiting the water to occupy spots on logs.
Twas a lovely afternoon for such a walk, and I enjoyed, gruntlingly so, every moment.
After seeing the swimming and sitting ducks, I found a stuffed abandoned duck on the ground in the park where in that same area a young family sat at a picnic table.
My route also took me past the lovely mural on a museum storage container, painted by Savannah Pitts.
In the past, I recall seeing Savannah riding a horse and carrying a flag, so it was neat to see that now she is using her talents to beautify the community.
Soon I was back at the car, headed home and thinking about what a nice afternoon it had been from start to finish, taking pictures of a new friend, and, later, some new and even some established attractions in our community.
BTW: one mural, pictured below with all the neat fish, appears on the side of Washington Elementary School. Twas a drive-by shot.
Back home, I prepared dinner, which included more fresh corn from the garden. Can't be anything but gruntled while savoring each tender, juicy, tasty bite from those cobs.
After-dinner time spent with CB was also pretty satisfying for me and especially satisfying for him, as he got to spend some time grabbing big mouthfuls of tall, green grass in the woods.
Yes, Elle, I'm glad you found "gruntled" and gave it some attention on Instagram.
For those used to hearing the word "disgruntled" so often, just think of this scenario: someone walks into a hospital, fully armed and masked.
That someone approaches each nursing station, pulls out a beautiful flower from a large bouquet, hands it to a staff member, says "thank you" and then moves on to do the same for hospital staff members many times over.
That's being "gruntled" for all concerned.
Happy Wednesday. Hope you find a few moments today for feeling gruntled.
Also, a very Happy Twentieth Anniversary to Willie and Debbie. Time flies!
1 comment:
I want to go home. From the time when I was so little that I had to stand on the car seats to see out the window (Don't tell the grandchildren that) to the time I came back for the burials of my parents, my reactions coming into that little town were always the same. Amazement. Joy. Thankfulness. Security. The most beautiful place in the world, I told my self. I want to go home.
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