The Daily Word for July 27, 2021

 

absquatulate - verb - to leave somewhere abruptly (Lexico.com)

I live in the suburbs of Jersey–in the shadows of New York City. On clear days, I can see the skyscrapers looming on the horizon 25 miles away as I drive east on Rt. 22. For whatever reason, this part of the country has a quicker pace, maybe the quickest. The "New York minute" is approximately thirty seconds as opposed to sixty everywhere else. Traditionally, inhabitants of this region have people to see, places to go and little patience so that they tend to think nothing of absquatulating at the drop of a hat. And when they do, the rest of us don't think that it is rude because the behavior has become commonplace. 

Sometimes absquatulating can become involuntary. For example, yesterday afternoon I attended a monthly meeting of my book club, a coterie of highly educated, intellectual teachers –my former colleagues who devour tomes whole and don't think twice about doing so. I formed the club because every time we got together as friends, all they would talk about was books. As humans, they are beyond bibliophiles. Anyway at yesterday's gathering, we were all engrossed in a discussion about plagiarism that had nothing whatever to do with the month's selection–ironically, Fredrick Blackman's Anxious People–when one member threw a wrench in the engine with "I have to go. Michael is cooking dinner and needs to eat obnoxiously early." Naturally, once she stood up to absquatulate, the rest of us–like lemmings–did, too, and before we knew it, we were saying our farewells and heading to our cars. Just like that. Absquatulating may just be as catching as COVID. I hope not, though. If a party is any good, I tend to want to stay. How about you? 

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