The guy who came up with the Smurfs was really onto something. The language is brilliant because they substitute the word 'smurf' for just about anything. So something that is described as smurfy is nondescript, it doesn't give any clues as to the real meaning; something that's smurfy can be good or bad.

Everyone has a smurfy word. It's a word that you use, probably excessively, as a conversation filler. One guy whom John and I know uses the phrase "isn't that something?" when no, it's not something. It's so much of nothing. But it's what he says, in a very obtuse way, as a filler word. So as to not offend people, I won't tell you what my smurfy word is. But my smurfy word used to be, "really?". In the past, before I changed my smurfy word, I'd be on the phone with someone (it works better on the phone because then the person on the other end can't tell that you are mind-numbingly bored with what they're saying), and they'd tell me a story that I wasn't really interested in, but at the end I'd punctuate it with "really?". That way, I would contribute to the conversation and the other person would feel better knowing that I was listening. Honestly, it's just the way society works. Without smurfy words, the world as we know it would stop functioning.

So, what's your smurfy word?

Several weeks ago, John and I met a nice couple at the dog park with two really friendly dogs. We asked what one of the dogs was named and the guy told us it was Gumbo. But John misheard him and started calling "Dumbo" over to him. Then the guy, in a really small voice that nobody but me could hear, said "no.... it's Gumbo." And the look on his face said it all: 'I have chosen my dog's name poorly.'