by Nancy Linenkugel
Contributor
On a particularly gorgeous and jigsaw puzzle-perfect sky day, I was turtle-ing across campus. I wasn’t in any particular hurry for once, so I could take my time and take in the beauty of the day. My reverie was only interrupted by the change-of-class scene of purposefully striding undergraduate students intent on their cell phones and who were not paying attention to where they were going. Many also sported headphones, so that really made me more ready to give these walkers a wide berth.
How delightful it was to meet up with a colleague striding briskly toward me. We quickly commandeered a safe sidewalk corner and exchanged pleasantries.
“It’s great to see you, Mike, and how are things in your world?” I asked.
“Super. Everything’s fine,” Mike responded breathlessly. “But right now I’m in a hurry. My class starts in 12 minutes and I’ve got to get over to Cohen. I’ll be late if I don’t get moving. Talk to you later — gotta wog.” And he disappeared into the crowd sea. “Bye!” he shouted.
“Gotta wog? What in the world does that mean?” I pondered.
At that point I was feeling ancient. Among all the natural beauty around me, including warm sun, birdies chirping, and a gray squirrel scurrying along, here I was — a fossil. By then I was trudging instead of bouncing along to the building destination. Once inside I quickly spotted another colleague who happens to be my usual go-to person for things like this.
“Brenda, hi. Have you ever heard the term ‘wog’, as in ‘gotta wog’? I just met somebody on the academic mall who used that phrase before speeding off to his classroom. Have you heard that?” I ask as we walk together down the corridor, she back to her office and me to a conference room.
“Yep. And you can figure it out. Think of what was going on. The person needed to move fast, right?” asked Brenda. I nodded yes.
Brenda continued, “And he probably couldn’t or didn’t want to break into a full-out jog but chose to walk as fast as he could. So walk + jog = wog. Easy.”
“Yes, I see it now, and thanks. But whatever happened to the phrase, ‘gotta run’? Everyone knows what that means,” I responded.
“Run implies you’d be doing something that you’re not, and besides, it gives the impression you’re running away from something. You don’t want that image of weakness or being in a frenzy. You want to be in control at all times. ‘Wog’ gives you that control,” Brenda explains convincingly. “Besides, ‘wog’ also sounds similar to ‘walk’, so it’s a better all-around word.”
“Thanks, Brenda. You’re a pal. I can always count on you. Well, here I am at my meeting room doorway. Gotta wog,” I say proudly to use my new word as I zoom all of three steps to enter the room.
[Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]