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Navigating Life in a Whackadoodle World
While riding the bus one day, a retired self-help expert is confronted by the Fourteen Rules of Life that she once taught. When their demands to know why she’s been ignoring them received an unsatisfactory answer, the Rules take over and insist on telling their own story, resulting in a unique, insightful, and humorous guide to getting the most out of our turbulent times. They name the guide Navigating Life Through Turbulent Tides.
Two years later, our retired self-help expert is once again accosted. This time by her student, who claims that after two years of pandemic, a second impeachment, a Capitol riot, a war in Europe, economic forecasts, mounting gun violence, and multiple weather disasters, the world was no longer merely turbulent, it’s down right Whackadoodle. She has questions, and she requires answers. Together, they decided to read the original book, and allow her to ask questions at the end of each chapter.
Navigating Life in a Whackadoodle World contains the original text of Turbulent Tides, updated by their discussions to make it even more relevant in our current times.
What does Whackadoodle mean?
Check out this excerpt from Navigating Life in a Whackadoodle for the author’s answer:
“I think that I would have liked your brother,” she told me shyly.
“There was a lot there to like, believe me. I can’t tell you how many girls wanted to be my friend just because they had crushes on him in high school, but he was always faithful. He never broke a promise,” I smiled, thinking back. “He might be my original Whackadoodle.”
“Okay, so we might not have the same definition of Whackadoodle because faithful and Whackadoodle don’t compute in my brain.”
“To be honest,” I said. “I’d thought that I had made the word up. Nobody had ever taught it to me.” I thought back to my afterschool program. “The kids that I was working with would make these crazy, but sometimes brilliant statements, and I’d tell them, ‘You’re such a Whackadoodle.’ It was just a fun word to say. Imagine my surprise when I actually looked the word up, and discovered it had a whole different meaning.”
“When did you look it up?”
“When I decided to write my first book about you.”
“Me?” she countered. “You don’t think that I’m Whackadoodle do you?”
“Hum,” I thought about it. “I think we’re both pretty whacky, and we definitely live in a Whackadoodle world.
“What is the actual definition?”
“Shoot girl,” I bowed my head. “You don’t really expect me to remember the exact definitions.”
“I know,” she said, pulling out her cell phone. A few minutes later she informed me. “The Urban dictionary says a Whackadoodle is an eccentric, ditsy, arcane, or funny person.”
She kept clicking, and a few minutes later informed me, “Dictionary.com claims Wackadoodle describes someone or something as eccentric, wrongheaded, bizarre, or foolish, generally in an amusing way and with a mildly dismissive tone.”
“Wow,” she said after that, “The Wall Street Journal says, wackadoodle has emerged as a humorous label for someone or something that is eccentric at best, or unhinged at worst.”
I said nothing as she kept on clicking.
“This is an important one,” she concluded at last. “In 2014, the word Whackadoodle was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary and was officially defined as an eccentric or fanatical person.”
“Yeah,” I’d heard enough. “That’s their definition, but not mine. When I say Whackadoodle, I think of my whacky, loving, faithful brother, and I think of those brilliant kids dancing around my room.”
“And you think of me?”
“Sure,” I admitted. “I think of you.”
“I suppose that’s why it’s important to confirm understanding before reacting,” she nodded happily. “I mean, if you had called me Whackadoodle before I knew your definition for Whackadoodle, I might not feel as good as I do now.”
“And how do you feel now that you know that I think of you as Whackadoodle?”
She considered my question. “I think that I feel kind of accepted for exactly what I am. I also think that I agree with you,” she added a moment later.
“How so?”
“Whackadoodle is a fun word to say,” she said, turning back to the book.
___________
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Author:
- Navigating Life in a Whackadoodle World
- Finding Sense in a Whackadoodle World
- Teaching Logic in a Whackadoodle World
- Navigating Life Through Turbulent Tides
- A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating Life