Impacted!

I can't take it anymore. With the flood (no pun intended) of recent news coverage about Hurricane Irene, the misuse of "impacted" has reached frenzy level. I suppose saying that something is impacted rather than affected by events has more verbal punch, but I still say it is WRONG and using is again and again doesn't make it right.

"Impacted" is an adjective in the English language, meaning tightly packed or wedged in. It shouldn't be the used as the past tense conjugation of the transitive verb, impact. This verb's primary meaning is to strike forcefully or make contact with, however, recent usage has given it an alternate meaning as in to alter, influence, have an effect on. For example, The senator's insistence on cutting Medicare funding will impact the lives of the elderly. Affect or even effect would be better, but impact is correct. The elderly are impacted by deep cuts in Medicare funding. No!  If they are, they should consult a physician, despite the loss of funding. They're probably eating too much cheese.

Bottom line, wisdom teeth and bowels are impacted. People, places and events are not.

My Real Ghost Story #1

My friend Natalie tells me I should write down all the weird encounters I've had, mostly as a child, and put them into a biography. Well, they're isolated incidents, not much story line to work with, so I thought I'd post them now and then on this blog. Here's one from my teenage years:

My parents scraped the money together and paid for me to study overseas for a summer session at Universite Dijon when I was sixteen years old. Our group stopped off for a day in New York City before heading to France. Our guide took us to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which didn't appeal to most of the sixteen year old girls. They wanted pizza. I, however, fancied myself a budding art student and wanted to see the interior--particularly the statues, icons, etc. Besides, it was much cooler in there than out on the street. While they debated over lunch, I popped inside for a look. I made it a little way inside the entrance, near the back row of pews, and stopped to look at the angel on one of the water fonts. It was very quiet and peaceful inside--just a few visitors milling around a good distance away near the alter.

I heard a tapping sound behind me. I turned toward the big entry doors. They were closed. An elderly woman in a long black dress and long black veil--she looked like a stereotypical 1900s Italian grandmother--was heading straight towards me with a vengeance. The tapping sound came from the metal tip of her black umbrella striking the marble floor. The taps weren't in cadence with her stride. She was hitting the umbrella rapidly against the floor to get my attention. Being an awkward and relatively shy teenager, I whirled back around to stare at the statue again. I didn't want to get into a confrontation with somebody's nana. I could feel her walk up directly behind me and the tapping stopped. She leaned over and hissed in my left ear--Don't pray to St. Theresa, she'll give you tuberculosis!  I caught a glimpse of her black dress whisk past me on the left and turned to look. All I saw was the empty aisle stretched out ahead. I turned around--no one. I looked at the other visitors. They were going about their business. Granny had vanished. I hustled out the front doors, rejoined the group, and set out for lunch.

I learned much later in life, while reading about the Cathedral, that indeed there is an alter to St. Theresa down that long vacant aisle I saw. This particular Theresa was awarded the honor of Church Doctor and died from her good works after contracting--you guessed it--tuberculosis. Why this spirit felt the need to warn me, I don't know. Maybe she had an axe to grind about this particular place. Or maybe she just took the opportunity to come back from the other side, have a little fun and tease an impressionable teenage girl.

My Favorite Literary Ghosts

Jacob Marley - A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens.  Poor Jacob tries his best to convince Scrooge that he is a real apparition (not a bit of underdone potato) and to send him a warning. I wear the chain I forged in life. We all should take heed. But Scrooge is in denial until...
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come - A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens.  Hooded robe, skeletal pointing finger. Who could ask for anything more in a ghostly messenger? Without a word, this spirit shows Scrooge how his miserable, pathetic life ends in a neglected grave. Point taken, Scrooge changes his ways.
The ghosts of the Overlook Hotel - The Shining, Stephen King.  Delbert Grady, Lloyd the bartender, that thing in Room 217. Sinister, manipulative and scary, scary, scary. I slept with the light on for a week after finishing this book and I was 24 years old at the time. Classic.
Peter Quint and Miss Jessel - The Turn of the Screw, Henry James.  Illicit lovers in life. Child corrupters (a lovely nineteenth century euphemism) in death. One malevolent and cunning, one melancholy and repentant, both vying for the children's souls. Or are they the product of the fevered imagination of a sexually frustrated governess? I think not.
Catherine - Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte.  Heathcliff can't live with her and can't live without her. He even digs up her grave. Obsession at its finest. Added bonus-inspiration for a great Kate Bush song.
Hugh Crain and the ghosts of Hill House - The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson.  Poltergeists and psychic attacks. Pity Eleanor Vance. She just wants to belong somewhere. Only Theo catches a glimpse of the real ghostly horror and she's not talking. Run! Written in 1959 and still one of the best ever.
Mr. Dark - Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury.  Although not a ghost per se, Mr. Dark and his collection of evil entities at the Pandemonium Shadow Show, the October People, appear from the supernatural realm to seduce young Will Halloway, his best friend Jim Nightshade, and the needy townsfolk by offering to grant their heart's desires.  Will's father knows the truth, but how will good triumph over such evil?

Goodreads Giveaway has ended...

Thank you to the 977 Goodreads members who entered to win a copy of The Case Files of Thomas Carney. I sincerely appreciate your interest in my debut novel.

Congratulations Lisa, Glenda, and Heather.  Your copies will be on their way to you on Monday.

Goodreads Giveaway ends in one week...

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