Dank. Yes, it's a word. Dank.

Hey everyone,

This is another one of those 'strange coincidences' type of posts :-) Sort of The Secret Revisited I guess lol.

I'm sure most of you have a small library of words in your head that just sound strange when you hear/see them. Yes? No? Sure you do!

When I was in high school, can't remember exactly which grade, I read the word 'dank' in a book. At the time, I thought it was a mis-print, but looked it up in the dictionary anyway. Yes ... the dictionary, that old paper version of what we now call Google lol

Sure enough, it's a word.

Dank
–adjective, -er, -est. unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly: a dank cellar.

It was one of those strange words for me, so I decided to store it away for future use :-)

That same year, we had a substitute teacher for English class, for an extended period of time. He was the older brother of one of my classmates. During his stay, we had to write a paper. My report contained the word 'dank'. The report was returned, the word was circled with an 'x' next to it, and the comment 'Not a word' written next to it, in red.

I was mad! It WAS a word. I knew it was, but I didn't argue it. (I know, I know, I heard that collective gasp out there! She didn't argue it?!?!?!? LOL) Partly because he was the brother of a friend, partly because he was a teacher. I wasn't accustomed to arguing with teachers. What can I say? I was young and still hadn't grown into my brass balls yet ;-)

That one experience solidified that word in my mental data bank though. Anytime I came across it in a book in the years to come, I would remember that paper, and that substitute teacher, and wish I had spoken up and said 'Yes, it IS a word ... does that change my grade at all?????' ;-)

Fast forward almost 20 years.

A couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling through my Friend list on one of the social networking groups I'm a member of, and landed on the classmate from my English class. Substitute teacher's brother. I remembered the 'dank' incident. And smiled :-)

A couple of days later, in end-of-day conversation, (with the guy I have been giving a drive home after work) the subject of high school, teachers, classes, etc. comes up and the 'dank' story comes to mind, so I share it with him. He wasn't familiar with the word. We chuckle about the fact that (substitute) teachers aren't always right ;-)

The next day, my favourite morning radio dude asks the question "What was something you learned from a teacher?" Meaning some life lesson apart from the three R's. One lady called in and said one teacher had taught her to stand up for herself. Immediately I thought about the whole 'dank' story, and thought to myself 'I learned substitute teachers aren't always right! I wish I had learned that other lady's lesson earlier too!!!' lol

Although I knew it wasn't the 'feel good moment' he was looking for, after I got to the parking lot and parked my vehicle, (because we're not legally allowed to drive and cell here anymore) I shared my 'dank' story with my radio dude anyway (off-air), cause we chat about 'stuff' like that :-) He wasn't familiar with the word either, and asked me to use it in a sentence LOL. I was able to do so. ;-)

Later that same afternoon, I headed outside for a break from the cube. I found myself a sunny patch, parked my butt, opened my new Lisa Jackson book (Hot Blooded), and started the Prologue. On the second page, 1st paragraph I read the sentence ...

"A hot June breeze, heavy with the dank breath of the Mississippi, blew through the open window."

There it was. Making it's appearance after I'd thrown it out there all week.

My previous thoughts on The Secret: "It's about the Law of attraction. What thoughts/words/actions you throw out there into the universe, good or bad, you attract back to you."

Dank.

It is a word.

Have a great weekend all!

K