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Dear Reader,
Suzanne will return next Monday, today's column is written by Blaize Clement.
Every family has a word only they use. In my family, it's "hum-ditty." If the temperature rises, somebody is bound to say, "Well, it's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher," and everybody laughs as if it's the first time they ever heard it.
My second son was born on the hottest day in history in Beaumont, Texas. It was 104 degrees, and so humid that moving was like forging through a sauna. Even so, while my husband waited with other expectant fathers and families, one grandmother-to-be kept saying, "It's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher."
For the first five or six hours, my husband, not wanting to seem a know-it-all, was very careful to simply agree with her and not say the word "humidity." My labor was lengthy, and the woman stayed in the waiting room too, still talking about how fortunate everybody was that the hum-ditty wasn't higher. At some point, stress and worry and fatigue made my husband begin to have a nervous fear that he would say "hum-ditty" too, and that it would seem he was making fun of her.
Time dragged on, and then he began to have a serious internal debate about how the stupid word was supposed to be pronounced. He couldn't remember if it was hum-ditty or humidity, and he felt as if he'd lost his mind. When our son finally made his appearance, my husband told me about the humidity/hum-ditty experience as soon as I was able to listen without crossing my eyes. He thought it would make me laugh, and it did, but I think he also wanted me to confirm how the word was really pronounced.
In Sarasota today, the temperature is expected to be in the 90s. Every time I hear the weather announcer say that, I think, "Well, it's a good thing the hum-ditty isn't higher."
Suzanne will be back on Monday, and it has been a privilege to fill in for her while she took time to heal. Many thanks to her for letting me connect with fellow readers, and many thanks to everybody who sent me notes. I treasure them all.
Blaize Clement
* Blaize is the author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series. The latest book, Cat Sitter On A Hot Tin Roof, was a December mystery book club feature. You can email her at: Blaize@BlaizeClement.com
SEARCHING FOR YOUR NEXT BIG THRILL? Read the "Between the Lines" feature interview with Steve Martini then read about great thrillers from: Matt Hilton, James Rollins, Julie Korzenko, Karna Small Bodman, Christy Reece, John A. Elefteriades, Lis Wiehl and April Henry. Go to: http://www.thrillerwriters.org
* This month's Penguin Classics book is The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/MayClassics
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