Origins is a somewhat reoccurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.Today's word is: gung ho, which means to be enthusiastic, zealous, or eager
I chose this word because I'm feeling rather gung ho about about my up-coming book, despite the load of corrections which are now in the good hands of one Diane Wolfe.
That said, gung ho actually means something different. It's Anglicized from the Chinese words kung, meaning work, and ho, meaning together. Gung ho was adopted during World War II by the United States Marines under General Evans Carlson. In 1942 The New York Times Magazine reported: "Borrowing an idea from China, Carlson frequently has what he calls 'kung-hou' meetings... Problems are threshed out and orders explained."
The following year Life magazine reported:
"He [Carlson] told them [the Marines] of the motto of the Chinese Co-operatives, Gung Ho. It means Work Together... My motto caught on and they began to call themselves the Gung Ho Battalion."
And there you have it. I'm feeling enthused by all of those who are working together with me on The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands. There's no way I could have done it alone.
***
It was the White Queen, from Through the Looking Glass, who said to Alice: "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." When life gets you down, think of or believe, six impossible things before breakfast. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. If you are aren't smiling by the sixth thing, think of six more. Keep thinking of impossible things until you smile, or until you understand that life itself is impossible. Yet here we are.
Here, for your entertainment are Six Impossible Things. You can believe them or not as you wish.
Discovering the Lost Continent of Mu
Hearing the Sermon on the Mount live, up close, and personal
Inventing a safe non-polluting, totally biodegradable, reusable plastic
Having tea with the Buddha
Being a bolt of lightening
Being a giant sequoia
***
These lovely people are giving my book cover space on their blog this week. Thank you for helping spread the word about The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands. Another example of being GUNG HO!
Monday
Shannon Lawrence at the Warrior Muse
Yolanda Renee at Defending the Pen
Pat Garcia at Everything Must Change
Wednesday
Meradeth Houston at Write Stuff
Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful for
lizards!
I do love lizards.
The most abundant lizard in the Virgin Islands is this little cutie, the leaf lizard.
A typical Virgin Island male anolis posing on a papaya leaf.
A Virgin Island ground lizard which can grow to be a couple of feet long. They never leave the ground and are very fast.
A Texas brown lizard. What, but this one's green! They are chameleons, changing from brown to green depending on their background.
A baby iguana chillaxing on my hand.
A adult iguana chillaxing on some rocks by the sea. They are very good swimmers.
A Texas spiny lizard.
What are you thankful for? Did you know the origin of gung ho? What's your impossible thing to believe today? Do you like lizards?
Hi Bish - fascinating about the history of 'gung-ho' ... that I'd never have expected. Love lizards - they enjoy themselves. I'm just thankful for a dry, sunny day looking out on a sparkling sea ... what is impossible to believe in - is that people are treated differently ... not good.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your book - I'm sure Diane's comments will be excellent cheerleaders for your book's publication ... Cheers Hilary
Those lizards are so cute! We have ones that are similar to the second image and we also have skinks. Those suckers are really fast.
ReplyDeleteWe'll get your book into shape for release day.
Awesome you're working with Diane. I'm sure you'll be happy when the revisions are all done.
ReplyDeleteWe have lizards here. If they break their tale, it grows back. I don't know what they are but they're tiny.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear about your new book. "a haunting tale" sounds great!
And your #3 on the list of impossible things--I'm with you. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
That's a lot of lizards.
ReplyDeleteWell, scrap using gung-ho anymore. Although the real meaning is good.
I just returned from a vacation in the beautiful Virgin Islands! We saw lots of those little lizards, not to mention mongooses and crabs. Thanks for the origin of "gung ho," which I actually used in my blog post today. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that expression's origin. That's so interesting. Thanks Bish. Lizards are a garden's best friend, so I'd second you on your choice of things to be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fascinating background on gung ho! I would have never guessed. And those lizards are quite cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me the origin of gung ho. One more bit of trivia in my mind. Loved the lizard shots, too.
ReplyDeleteI had to scroll quickly past those pictures because I do not like lizards.
ReplyDeleteGlad your corrections are being taken care of. :)
I love the universes creatures great and small and they're simply wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting--I had no idea that's where gung ho came from! I love your lizards. When I lived in Texas we had tons of them but I rarely see them here in New England.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the derivation of the expression: Gung Ho - so thanks for teaching me something today, Bish.
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of lizards - although the ones in Fiji were a bit of nuisance with their droppings in the house.
As for impossible things - right now my impossible thing has to be: being happy with my first book draft!
Good luck with yours. :)
Susan at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I like lizards and try to save them from my cats. I didn't know about the origin of gung ho. Those are some interesting impossible things.
ReplyDeleteOne ImpossibleThing that come to mind immediately is trying to find my home made water pressure measuring gauge after not haveing need of it for 7 years!
ReplyDeleteOne ImpossibleThing that come to mind immediately is trying to find my home made water pressure measuring gauge after not haveing need of it for 7 years!
ReplyDeleteI love lizards. All sizes. In Bucerias the tiny ones are called squeezies. The big ones are iguanas because they're HUGE. We had a mum, dad, and baby squeezie in our apartment. A real treat.
ReplyDeleteHey Bish,
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be a bit more gung ho these days. I mean, really, it has taken me four days to get here. Either I'm slow or the internet is slow.
When I was on my honeymoon in Cancun, I fell in love with an iguana that stayed near our hotel balcony.
Have a nice weekend, Bish.
Gary :)