Can’t get rid of this damn chair, can I?

Did I tell you about my first day as a DJ assistant? I got the name of “The Electric Slide”, wrong, and shouted out, “It’s Eclectic!”.

No, that’s not true. Makes for a good story, though,

I do have a true story about the word eclectic, though.

Back, (way, way back), I lived and worked in Greenwich, Connecticut. I worked in a small discount department store, where the close knit employees all felt like family.

The owner of the store was like a second father to me. One day he asked me about my taste in music. I said something like, ‘My taste in music is eclectic”. The boss looked at me, and said, “Don’t use that word here”.

I didn’t understand what he meant…..could there be an obscene, second meaning to eclectic that I didn’t know? I was really puzzled and upset.

Finally, I got it. My poor SAT mind was oriented to using big words. Then I realized not everyone has that broad a vocabulary. Some people wouldn’t understand, and the rest would think I sounded like a snob.

In short, don’t use a $20 word, when a $5 word will do just fine.