Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

We often use words that were used in a different time. If we understand that use, we can better understand what we are trying to do now, at this time.

I overheard some ladies talking about arranging meals for groups of persons at charity fund raisers. “If someone is really hungry that day, then we can…”

“Really hungry” at a fund raiser? Persons who come to fund raisers have enough money to give large chunks of it to other persons. Rich persons hungry? Really?

“Really hungry” is a phrase from another time when persons were actually, really hungry. They had not eaten in four or five days.

“Really tired” is another such phrase from another time when persons were tired from hunger and dehydration and yet had walked 20 miles a day for a few weeks.

We use these and other words when describing persons who sit in front of PCs every day in air conditioning while wearing new, clean clothes and having plenty of potable water on hand as well as micro-waveable food and…

“Those are just expressions, figures of speech. We all know what we are talking about.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

Sometimes—even today—we build systems for persons who are actually really hungry and really tired. Sometimes we build systems for the typical office worker in all those aforementioned nice conditions.

Let’s use different words for different situations. Words do have meaning.