Flabbergasted: past participle, past tense of flabbergast

Flabbergasted. This is one of the better F words out there. It is one that I keep in my reserve of fun words to use at appropriate times. Today I used the word in one of my college classes. Imagine my surprise when a student raised her hand and said, "Did you just make that word up?" I was...well...flabbergasted.

I am appalled at the ever-decreasing lack of vocabulary of our nation's youth. Yes, I am 36 years old. Yes, I am not a twenty-something anymore. Yes, I'm on the downward slide into middle age (or perhaps I already slid there and just didn't realize it). Perhaps, when I feel the need to discuss the nation's youth, I am simply screaming to the world that I'm past my prime. Perhaps.

I don't think so, but regardless, I think that our country is failing its current and future generation by de-emphasizing the arts and the textures of literature. We don't read enough. The children of this country do not read enough. Their parents do not read enough. And this breakdown of the love of literature is creating a cycle of idiots who don't know the word FLABBERGAST. Texting while driving does not a reader make. Facebooking on the sofa while "Dancing with the Stars" provides the background noise does not a reader make. DVRing your favorite shows and spending hours each week watching them does not a reader make.

There are so many things that I see and hear as a teacher of writing in a city college in Memphis. The saddest thing is that my students aren't fluent readers. I ask them if they've read any Maya Angelou and they say they've never heard of her. I ask if they've read Annie Dillard and I get the same answer. I ask if they've read John Grisham or Jane Austen or Ernest Hemmingway or Michael Shaara or C.S. Lewis and only get bored shakes of heads. Not even a Harry Potter book? How about a good old fashioned romance? Nora Roberts? No, no, no. Well, crap, no wonder they are lost when I use words like commemorate or maim or incredulous.

If you are a young parent with preschool and school age children in your house, READ TO THEM. Start now... today. There should never be an excuse to not read. I don't care if you are tired or if the day has been too long. READ. Your babies will do so much better in school. Their state test scores will be off the charts if they are readers. They will learn to love books and will, therefore, be lovers of learning. READ.

If you are a student and you feel like you have too much homework, do your work and then read something for pleasure. Turn off the Wii and read. Load a book onto your ipod and listen to it. It counts as reading. Your mind will love the language and you might actually enjoy it.

If you are older, perhaps sliding into middle age or perhaps you already slid and then slid a bit further, continue to read. Browse the bookstore, go to the library, get your Nook books and read. Don't put off reading until your next vacation. Read every day. It will keep your mind sharp.

READ!