Anticipation (November 17)

This following excerpt came from a book that I read a few years back. The word and the story have stuck with me since I first read it ; and you know I like to share goodness. Fred Craddock gives this example of a necessary component of any oratory statement. “Near the end of his life, Carl Sandburg, historian, poet and entertainer, was asked by a reporter, “What in your opinion is the ugliest word in the English Language?” Mr. Sandburg drew is brow thoughtfully over his face and repeated the phrase, “The ugliest word in the English language.” The reporter and television audience waited. Mr. Sandburg looked away as if searching the room for a word written somewhere on a wall, pursed his lips and almost mumbled, “Ugliest? The ugliest word?” The reporter and millions continued to lean forward. The pause seemed long, but alive and promising. Mr. Sandburg turned back to the reporter. “The ugliest word,” he said, “the ugliest word is [pause] ‘exclusive.’ Into a nest of anticipation, built entirely of restraint, he dropped the word, and years later, in the memory of many, it lies there yet, still vivid, fresh and strong.”