seasonal affective disorder: M-W’s Word of the Day

M-W’s Word of the Day is actually three words, but I’m nitpicky like that. I’d like to write something witty and sarcastic about M-W’s Word(s) of the Day, but I just can’t think of anything. I guess I must be S.A.D.:

seasonal affective disorder \SEE-zun-ul-a-FEK-tiv-dis-OR-der\ noun

: depression that tends to recur as the days grow shorter during the fall and winter

Example sentence:
Call it seasonal affective disorder,
Call it the winter blues —
But what ever you call it,
Don’t let it get the better of you.

Did you know?
“Seasonal affective disorder” hasn’t been recognized as a medical condition for very long, and the term has only become part of the general English vocabulary during the past two decades or so (its earliest documented appearance in print dates from 1983). “Seasonal affective disorder” (abbreviated SAD) is also sometimes called “Winter Depression,” and some researchers describe it as a “hibernation reaction” in which sensitive individuals react to the decreasing amounts of light and the colder temperatures of fall and winter. The term “seasonal affective disorder” is sometimes used casually of the mild blahs that so many of us experience when the days grow short, but true SAD actually goes beyond the poetic “winter blues” — it is a diagnosable form of depression that can be quite debilitating.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Snow Butterfly

I’ve only lived here a week and a half and after just a day or two, I had a feeling the guy living three houses down from me is a drug dealer. The steady stream of traffic going in and out of the front and back doors is out of control. I can tell by the looks of the people going in and out, this guy is selling heroin and probably meth and coke. Today it is snowing and apparently junkies also panic with the threat of inclement weather. Some people rush out to buy milk and toilet paper, while others rush out to buy a speedball. Whatever gets you through, I suppose. I'm working from home today and, since about 9 a.m., foot traffic in and out the this guy’s back yard has been almost constant.

Just a short while ago, my heart broke a little. A woman and her little girl, who looked to be about seven, walked down my alley and were waiting outside the dealer’s gate. The girl was typically underdressed for this kind of weather, as many inner city kids seem to be. Tennis shoes untied with no socks, pink coat unzipped and too small, with the sleeves stopping well above her wrists, no hat, etc. As they were waiting, the girl got on her hands and knees and starting drawing in the snow. I couldn’t see what it was until she stood up and then I saw that she had drawn a perfect butterfly in the flakes. She sketched out so many butterfly details with her little fingers, including a segmented body, patterns on the wings, antennae, and she topped it all off by giving the butterfly a broad smile.

The dealer came out of the gate and her mom handed him cash and he handed her a packet. The little girl hopped up and pointed at her drawing excitedly. Her mom ignored her and walked away, inspecting whatever it was in her hand. The little girl stood there alone, with wet knees and wet hands, admiring her masterpiece for a few moments and then ran to catch up with her mom.

Now the butterfly and its smile are slowly fading as the falling snow covers it. People going in and out of the dealer’s yard have since trampled it. The little girl’s mother has returned for a second visit to the dealer. I watched her trample the butterfly too.

Wrong Preposition = Wrong Information

Today I noticed these new banners hanging from the street light posts on Washington Blvd. They have this red and green Christmasy feel to them. In large script it says, “Main St.” and in smaller block letters underneath it says, “Everything you need, right around the corner.”

Clearly these banners were designed by some outside consultant who’s never spent any time in Baltimore outside of Canton or Federal Hill. Anyone who knows even a little bit about this city knows the banners should say, “Everything you need, right on the corner.”