I've preached to you for months that cairn is the worst sounding word in the English language. But sorry people because someone (thanks, Mom!) said the word jitney out loud a few weeks ago and the clashing of auditory effects made me collapse flat on the floor, which, p.s., is the exact opposite of what cairns are up to.

Now for those of us who are lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the word jitney, it's a vehicle that picks up and drops off people at regular intervals.

 

Definitely a jitney.

Probably not a jitney,

 but worth seeing.

The good news here is that the English language is kind of like the popular table at a high school cafeteria, so weirdo words are weeded out because nobody identifies with them. And the fact is that over the years, both cairn and jitney have tracked negatively because they are virtual ice picks in everybody's ears.

More good news is that no one needs to say either word ever again because jitney can be shortened into "bus." And cairn can be shortened into "heap of stones set up as a landmark."

But here's what reminded me of all this jitney business. Yesterday, Margot and her friends got onto a small bus that left our hotel in Provo for the airport. It was time for them to fly back to South Caicos so they could start working and studying again at the School for Field Studies. As I watched the bus pull out of the parking lot I got a huge lump in my throat, I teared up in my mouth a little, and I thought, "man I hate that stupid jitney."