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You all probably know that I love  – LOVE – words. Words that I know. Words that I don’t know. Words, in general. Today, I want to talk about some of those words. Old-fashioned words. Words that came into fashion long before I was born, more than eighty-seven years ago. Words that may be on their way to becoming used by everyone in the world – not just my community or my country.

Today, one of my favorite words is – WONKY! It just seems to “roll off the tongue” into our speech. And, it can mean so many things. I thought it was a “new” word; imagine my surprise when I learned from AI on the Web – always our little helper – that the first use of the word, wonky, occurred around 1910. It started out as an adjective probably an alteration of a Old English word, “wanked,” morphing into  “wankle,” as Middle English took over.

Today, this favorite word of mine describes people, places, or things that are just NOT QUITE RIGHT! For example, this morning my laptop computer was WONKY, sitting on my nephew’s dining room table. Having traveled two days to get to his home in Texas, my e-mail should have been filled with dozens of e-mails (the laptop and my home computer are synced to share information). There were only e-mails in the laptop computer from May 17 – the day I actually left home. And, not very many of them – perhaps, just the ones that had arrived before I turned off the computer to place it in its carrying bag to go to Texas.

So, of course, what happens next is that I sent a text (bless the texting inventors) to Roger, my computer hero/guru, and begged him to get into the computer AND FIX IT! Understand that I’m in the central time zone, and he’s in the mountain time zone, so my 7:30 AM request arrived in his phone at 6:30 AM with me forgetting the difference in time. But, Roger – bless him, called a very short time later and started working on the computer. Isn’t it a wonderful thing that can happen that Roger can be in Colorado and I can be in Texas, and he can still access my computer. I remember working with a brilliant man at HP who was at the forefront of this kind of happening – but, that’s another  story.

Roger’s computer began to talk to my computer, I kept my hands off of the mouse and watched. On the laptop desktop, I saw Roger’s work as he moved through stuff (what do I know about “stuff”?) and slowly, but surely the e-mails appeared with dates / times of the last two days – those days of my travel to Texas. If anything at all in my life can appear to be magic, it is that. The computer in one place and the computer magician 899 miles west. And, my computer being fixed – now, that’s magic!

Returning to my word, “wonky,” here is a bit more info about it. Somewhere during the 1970s and the 1980s, wonky became more commonly used. I don’t remember hearing or using the word during that time. Probably, I was not running in circles where that word would used – I was busy teaching school, having a family (husband and three great daughters),  going to church, buying groceries and, in general, attempting to “make ends meet” on two salaries,

Wonky became what it means today, something, someone, or some activity that is unsteady or unreliable. Today, as with my laptop, I would certainly say that it was off-kilter, rickety, or not working properly. (But, Roger fixed that.) Wonky also evolved to mean something that was studious or overly detailed. For me, that doesn’t apply to wonky – if that something is studious or very detailed, then, that’s what it is – studios or very detailed. Definitely not wonky – for me! Again, for me, if a person is deeply focused on technical details, they are not wonky – they are the kind of person I would want working on a project with me.

And, now I’ve used up words for this blog by talking about my computer and my new, favorite word – Wonky. So, I’ll close this blog and plan to talk about other words in a couple of weeks (or so) because I do want to talk about many of these unusual words that are unique, funny. Imaginative, as well as some palindromes – words that I also love to play with. On this trip, my odometer turned into a palindrome of 120,021 – it is always fun to watch for that in the car.

So, next time – Words That I Like – Part 2

Be Safe and Be Well.
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are always appreciated.

Late last year (or early this year – I can’t remember), I wrote friends and relatives asking for their input into my question. I said, “I want to create a blog about wishes. I was thinking about wishes and here is what I thought: If I had one wish that I knew would be granted – only one, what would I wish for?” I also said, “I’m hoping this is not an imposition for anyone!” I also asked random people in the grocery store. Many of you responded to my request. Here for our perusal is what was said.

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If you have been reading this blog for some time, you may remember that my younger sister, the last of my immediate family, died in September of last year. Her sons decided that, although she had said there should be no memorial for her, that there would be one anyway. Their discretion.

Daughter #1 and I will travel for the celebration of her life. It is, therefore, appropriate for us to remember her at this time. I miss her every day.

We talked everyday by phone. So many times, I will see something on TV, hear a story, or simply think about her and realize that she is no longer there. Or, an ache or a pain will cause me to think, she has the same situation. So, I talk to her, anyway. And, that makes me feel a little better about how much I miss her.

Just how much an older sister can learn from a sister, younger than she. I can tell you that I learned a lot from her. She was a reader. She was a sewer of clothing, table cloths, and quilts. She quilted for others on her long-arm machine. I was the recipient of more than one of those magnificent quilts.

So, it is fitting to remember her at this time. We miss you, dear sister. If only I could hear your voice again!

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Once in a while, I get a thump on the head. It happens at the most unexpected times. like the one two days ago.

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You know, sometimes I see something that makes me wonder. Things that I cannot explain, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering. I thought that, today, I’d share a few of those things. The dad of a couple of my kids when I was the school super on the Eastern Plains called these situations – Wonderments.

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Dear Readers – A warning about this blog. You may read it understanding that it is a telling of how difficult it is to get medical testing scheduled. Then, again, you may view it as a RANT. I do that, sometimes, you know.

The MRI is an interesting happening. Here’s the progression of me attempting to schedule an MRI.

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There was a time when I had a doctor – A doctor – ONE doctor. Now, by last count, I have twenty-two medical folks charged with keeping me alive and well 0 as well as someone my age of eighty-seven can be. And, that does not include the staff at my local pharmacy. I’m told by my caregivers that I’m okay for my age.

Since January 1 of this year (2026), things have happened – my old body seems to be double crossing me. My head doesn’t want to go along with this double cross – arguing with every destructive step.

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Last week, my blog shared some info about animals I had in my classroom when I was teaching – at the country school, the public school, and the school  at a world-renowned hospital. I’d like to continue talking about those critters – even though, I’ve had others who lived with me in my home. For this week, let’s go back to school.

I left the “school animal” stories at a place where my classroom had been moved from the building with the two offices that had been converted to classrooms to the new school building.

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Critters I Have Known – Perso

For thirty years, I served my country as an educator. And, I think – Once an educator – always, an educator. It was always my idea that a classroom – the four walls – was just a place in which children could be introduced to the world. Sometimes, that introduction was by reading books and magazines, verbal instruction from the teacher, and such, and getting as much “learnin’” as possible from the task. I also thought that an important part of the education process was bringing the outside in. Or, taking the children – out.

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Last week, I wrote about my mother canning foods for the winter. As a young mother, I also canned foods for our winters.  And, I used a pressure cooker – a more modern version than that of my mother. Mine did not have the wing-nut closures. Rather, it simply had a way of putting pressure on the rubber ring that was the seal between the lid and the base.  Of course, it still had the pressure guage on top, as well as the pressure release valve and “petcock.”

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