he other day I was in a committee meeting with a bunch of young whippersnappers and I lost track of the discussion because of my fascination with the plethora of new lingo.
We’ve all heard “reach out” - like I’ll reach out to that client and resolve the issue. Unfortunately, every time I hear it I start to sing, “Darling Reach Out,” in my best Four Tops impression (in my head of course) and I can’t pay attention. Back in my day, we just said we’d contact the client to resolve the issue. But I suppose contact is no longer a verb. It is now someone who lives in your phone or something you wear instead of glasses.
“Circle back” is another new term that messes with my head. Every time someone says, “Let’s circle back to that issue,” I circle back to the mosh pit of 1983 when I lived in London and slam danced to the Circle Jerks’ song, “Wild in the Streets.” I bruised a rib at a Buzzcocks concert but that’s another story. I can’t make myself say circle jerk, oops I mean circle back, so I’ll just say follow up.
But I digress - back to that committee meeting. My mind was blown when someone said, “Who wants to quarterback that project?”
What a fantastic word to incorporate into a business meeting! My mind marinated (look at me using the new lingo) on that word for the rest of the meeting.
If you know me well, you know of my obsession with quarterbacks. I dated one for two years in high school so maybe that’s where it all began. Kurt Warner, the only undrafted player to be named NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP, is my favorite of all time. His Cinderella story is inspiring. He and his wife have seven children and I am one of seven children, so we have a lot in common. I am still sad he didn’t win Dancing with the Stars.
Aaron Rogers is another favorite. My husband and I attended a wedding in the Wisconsin Dells but I was more excited about the tour I booked at Lambeau field. That place is cccccold. The turtleneck I bought for my husband, George, looks monogrammed but really it stands for Green Bay. The cheesehead hats were hard to fit into my suitcase but our kids loved them.
I used to like the Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez, but I have never forgiven him for eating that hot dog.
Yes, I know that Joe Burrow is afraid to watch scary movies, including “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings,” and his favorite show is “SpongeBob.” But everybody knows that, right? I love his Krusty Krab sweatshirt, Squidward beanie and custom SpongeBob high tops. He is a fashion icon as well as a great quarterback. And oh, those blue eyes.
Then there is Tim Tebow. If you ever go to Seville Quarter, look for the photo of Timmy and me in Fast Eddie’s pool hall. I never really stalked him -1 just always booked a hotel room close to his when we traveled to Gainesville for football games. And I didn’t ask for that life-size cardboard cutout of him for my birthday - my husband surprised me with it. Yes, I forced my family to go to a Denver Broncos game during fall break to see Timmy play, but that builds character.
“Kids, Disney World will always be there, but Timmy may only be in the NFL for a short time.”
One of my favorite memories is sitting next to Pam Tebow when she was a keynote speaker in Pensacola. I was struggling with whether to spoil my kids or not - like do I do their laundry or make them do it themselves? She advised, “Do their laundry. Do everything you can for them. Because once they go, they’re gone. And you will wish you could do their laundry.”
Then I asked her how she raised such disciplined, kind, amazing kids. She responded, “Just love them. Just always let them know how much you love them.”
I’ll quarterback that.
