I love(d) Sesame Street. It is 100% a key ingredient in the cocktail that is me. When I was little, I saw a Sesame Street cassette tape collection at Sam’s. It had all the hits- “Rubber Ducky,” “C-is for Cookie,” “I Love Trash,” and so, so many more. Thanks to my sweet Grandma (yes, of the smell finger fame… read the book people!) I know, love, and can still sing many of these songs. 

One of the timeless classics in the collection is “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood.” sung by the often imitated, never duplicate Ernie ( yes, of the Burt and Ernie fame…)

“Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood” is a great bop about civically minded employees that contribute to the health and vitality of your community. The postman, the fireman, the teacher and many, many more.

At one point, I was an assistant librarian as mentioned in the song. (To clarify, the song just says librarians. I guess it was too hard to work in assistant.. eye roll.) One thing I tried to implement was the “Word of the Week.” You see, the alliteration makes it fun. 

Selecting words reminded me about a pillar in my community, whom I will refer to as Miss Rita. She is sharp, articulate, and still going strong. ( I often saw her in said library). I met Miss Rita as a retired Latin teacher who would occasionally substitute in my English and French classes. One day, she introduced us to her favorite word, “pulchritude.” 

I have not been able to get it out of my mind since. I’m just baffled that a word that is so phonetically hideous can mean beautiful. My mind then instantly jumps to the word, sepulchre, which makes me think of decomposing corpses (corpsi?), which surprise- ain’t what you would call pulchritudinous.   

So, naturally, pulchritude was the first word on display. In subsequent weeks, I poured over an ancient, 20 lb dictionary, mining for more linguistic gold. I had forgotten how magical a dictionary is-words, phonetic codes, parts of speech, and best of all- the hallowed example sentence. 

This got me thinking (catchphrase to the rescue!), who writes these sentences and how does one go about applying for that job? 

Is it particularly service or civilly minded? No. Is it one of the careers highlighted in “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? Absolutely not. But dang that is a cool job. A job I want… you know, as a part-time gig. 

Since I don’t know how to apply, I thought I would give a few samples, and perhaps the right eyes will come across them. I thought my loyal readers (ha!) might also like to play along. Please share your applications in the comments! 

Redamacy: (noun) a balanced, two-way exchange of affection where neither person’s feelings are unrequited

– “It wouldn’t be a Hallmark Christmas movie if the main characters experienced redamacy from the opening credits… unless maybe one of them dies suddenly in the first 5 minutes. 

Sonder: (noun) the profound realization that every random stranger is living a life as vivid, complex, and real as your own 

– “I experienced sonder as a child, when I realized my odd neighbor, who sat on his front steps all day, wasn’t just weird, but could have been a shell-shocked Vietnam vet, a disenchanted astronaut returned to earth, or a reformed pirate.” (True story…. Well partially true story.)

Absquatulate: (verb) to leave suddenly or flee

– “When my husband eats Popeye’s fried chicken, he has to absquatulate to squat at the nearest toilet.” *Bonus sentence* I will need to absquatulate when my husband reads this.” 

Agelast: (noun) a person who never laughs or lacks a sense of humor 

– “Don’t let your ball roll into Old Man Niedermeyer’s yard- He is an agelast and feeds off the tears of children.”