Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Wordplay Wednesday™ August 24, 2016 – Volitation



Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Free 

Inspired by two separate visitations by fortuitous ladybugs, I actually had to look up the old recitation I used to chant when a cute little red-and-black ladybug chose to rest on my arm. To my horror, I was reminded of its rather sad gist!

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All except one,
And her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan.
 

I’d fly away from a kid singing that to me, too! Good grief … from childhood chant to a word for when you simply want to impress with your aviation knowledge …

VOLITATION (välʹɘ tāʹshɘn) n. – 1) the act of flying, flight; 2) the ability to fly. [WW #74]

Now I ask you … why should we snub a perfectly good, explanatory, one-syllable, uncomplicated word like “fly” for a fly-by-night word toward the end of the alphabet, with four syllables only good for sounding out in a spelling bee? I’d rather flyyyyyyyyyy
 
We have dreamt of flying free as long as we’ve looked to the sky – kites, planes, spaceships, and my dream – a teleporter. That’s the height of flight – and a source of humor between myself and friend, John. Separated by nearly three thousand miles, we speak by phone often, since volitation is not an option.

John once had a most delicious meal, and envious, I told him I’d fire up the teleporter so he could send the leftovers to me. A Star Trek fan, I love the thought of teleporters – the ultimate form of volitation.

The crux of the joke is my teleporter is always broken – of course the other problem is teleporters don’t yet exist in a daily functional form. Sigh.

However, the day after I told him about my ladybug visits, he excitedly called exclaiming, “You fixed the teleporter!” Huh? Seriously, John, what are you on?

Because he lives in an even more urban environment than I, he was thrilled to have his own visit from a cute little ladybug. He hadn’t seen one in years – what a fun coincidence – volitation at its best. Of course, it wasn’t one of my ladybugs visitors, but envisioning a volitation by teleporter was an amusing thought.
 
For your enjoyment, I have created a new Ladybug rhyme in a more upbeat and joyful connotation. Cheers!

Ladybug, ladybug fly away free
Thank you my dear for visiting me
Do come back
When you’ve flown the world
And your spots have turned to lovely pearls.

Word of the Week: VOLITATION. With your super-human power of unhampered volitation, where would you go? Fit it into your flights of fancy for the week.

                       


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