In 2008, Barry Bateman (now retired) former Director of the General Mitchell International Airport (in Milwaukee, WI) invented the word “recombobulation” and created an area to do so just past TSA check-points.
So you just went through the TSA security check enroute to your flights’ departing gate and now your shoes, belt, jewelry and hat are in one hand and your carry on luggage is discombobulated because your toiletries are all askew. Mr. Bateman recognized the need for an area to recombobulate yourself and your things and of course, to see the humor in it all.
It’s worth noting that also in 2008, the American Dialect Society (the group that selects the “word of the year”) selected this made-up-word as that year’s “Most Creative” Word.
To bring this full circle, it’s also worth noting that the 2023 word of the year as selected by the American Dialect Society was “enshittification.” Well yes, of course it was. The 2024 word of the year hasn’t been selected yet, but I kinda can’t wait to see what this year’s word will be.
But let’s go back to recombobulation. I’ll bet you can see where I’m headed. If I were on the committee that gets to pick this year’s word...you betcha I’d vote for recombobulation.
Kim Hjelmgaard in a USA TODAY article said about 2024, “The Voldemort of years. The annus horribilis. The year that must not be named."
Here’s a recap of some of the intenseness that’s gone down in 2024: February’s AT&T failure of 5G voice and data services, cyberattacks and data breaches directed at healthcare providers and insurance companies in the first half of the year, the AI technology wave...2024 is the year organizations truly began using...and are deriving business value from...this new technology, a karmic year in the courts for Trump, the “that-was-a-very-big-deal” solar eclipse on April 8th, climate-related events that are causing anxiety across the world, the Summer Olympics hosted by Paris, the wreckage and now recovery from Hurricane Helene in WNC, and last but not least...the slippery slope of the U.S. Presidential Election. I’m confident that I left out many other noteworthy topics from 2024...but you get the point.
So yeah...I think a little recombobulation might be in order. Originally intended as a humorous term for the process of reassembling oneself after going through airport security. It’s undeniable that many of us are in a state of needing to regroup, re-gather, collect ourselves (emotionally and physically), unite, rest and reorganize...to name just a few.
However it is that you find necessary ways and means to recombobulate going forward...please do this. I know for myself, getting back into the forest (now that many parks and National Forests have re-opened) and hiking has been a form of quietude for me. Many have gathered in ceremonial ways to find pathways to grieve, mourn losses and accept what is. Others here in WNC are still reeling from sheer loss.
It’s an uncomfortable time. But this too shall pass.
And most certainly there’s change in the air.
Because what once was...is no more.
It’s time to recombobulate.
Photo Credit: online somewhere, image captured at the General Mitchell International Airport
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