The Word

Dry erase boards are very useful in the workplace. You can use them to jot down task lists and reminders, to sketch out examples or formulas, or perhaps to post useful tidbits of information for the enrichment of general knowledge in the office, like so:


Word o' the Day was running for a few months - though most words lasted for a few days to a week. The little green cat in the upper right-hand corner was a later addition. Here, he performs an essential task of personal hygiene. On Halloween he was hissing, back arched and fur standing on end; the following day, he was sprawled out on his back sleeping, glutted with candy. He's variously curled, stretched, sat, hunted, preened, and other such appropriately feline pursuits.

We had to stop it and erase the board because someone else started playing, and didn't play nice. There were inappropriate messages, poorly spelled and sometimes slightly nasty. My former cube neighbor and cat artist extraordinaire suspected one of the cleaning staff - their contributions being made at some point between my leaving for the day, around 5:15, and my friend's arrival in the morning about 7:30. We locked up the markers, but our mystery participant appears to have his own supply. Every morning for the last week we have a new "word" and a new definition - though they are made-up nonsense words.

They appear to be misspelled anyway.

Another friend suggested that I hide my camcorder near the board so I can discover the mystery participant's identity, then use the whiteboard to expose him. Someone else suggested I take it a step further and dress up as a person the mystery participant knew from high school so I can get close enough to kill him.

Well, I'm not going to do any of that. As you can see, my work keeps me much too busy.