"Can I have a word with, for you?" Choice words, word choices; make 'em count.

Dribs, Drabs...Gift of Gab: Nice to have choices, eh? Well, most of the time, right? As we began to learn language, the spoken word prior to those haphazardly scribbled, dribbled on, "the written word", listened (as in "listen up!") and watched, to see if the "messaging" (current term how ideas are conveyed both explicitly and more implicitly) our parents and the other 'teachers' in our lives were sending us, were matching up, 'mashing up', or even clashing -- as in a conflict in terms, in terms of what they were actually saying and their tone, as well as body language (as my children often cited, "You should have seen your face") , and whether what they told us over and over ("How many times do I have to tell you, show you?!") to be the "simple truths of life" were either in harmony or conflict with reality...From "Mama, Dada"...to..."What you have teaching me doesn't match up; you're a hypocrite"...to, finally, something resembling, "Turns out what they were telling me had a kernel of truth" (hopefully, realized prior to their own adolescents bringing them to their knees, calling them out😒😌). From Us questioning Them, to Them questioning Us, to Them questioning Themselves. Yep, from the beginning and throughout time, it's always been this way...

Target, Language Rich: Ideally, as those more expert in the development of language than I, linguistics, will tell you, it's best for children to grow up in a language rich environment ("...including the home and places families visit...mostly the home lately...the people children spend time with and activities they do together...parents can create opportunities for communicating with their children, through a vast variety of ways, almost unlimited...") Otherwise, they (our emerging, little linguists) may find themselves a target audience, of "them out there" -- as in early, "TV land" to "The Worldwide (and "Word Wide") Web", one they could easily find themselves getting completely wrapped up in (such as "binge watching", not for "adults only" anymore). At times the words and messages they may receive from such daily fare is consonant, harmonious with what we sought to taught ("genial"😊), whereas others it is more fraught with peril, at odds, even quarrelsome, with the primary messages we thought we were conveying. The primary messages of the most "simple truths" (which eventually became patented, a brand for food, no longer just "food for thought"), ranging from "you should treat others as..." to "use your words", to..."make good choices", the ones we tried our best to convey via both word and deed, in our homes, prior to them being...

Slapped with, into Reality: A place we all eventually found ourselves, a place we eventually were told by our parents was "Reality", as in "Welcome to..." This, after we learned what we were watching on TV, aside from those shows which were "strictly educational" (at least in the earlier days of TV Land) were a bit of an illusion, way before the high-tech illusionists, "photo-ops" came into full effect. Eventually we, as we grew and were exposed to more choices, learned that "Reality TV", at least according to our parents, were "far from it". Finally, we, developing linguists at every age and stage, learned that some "live TV", the moments that did not get either dubbed or rubbed out, in the briefest of deliberate (versus those that occur via malfunctions) delays ("to prevent profanity, bloopers, vulgarity, violence..."), brought to us by some of the most genial of sponsors, who decided to get behind the messages of award shows, those that even cover other movies and actors, that in turn have offered us all a wide range of fare, from more reality oriented "documentary" categories, to "some prestigious dramas featuring real-life stories", to those that are given for other dimensions or 'pure cinema' (such as "artistic and technical merit"), where the potential "winners and losers" are prepped, cautioned, coached ("this is going to be aired live, as well as streamed, world-wide, to a wide audience of viewers, including families and watch groups of all ages, closed captioned ..."), even the most well-conceived plans, "messages" once the action starts taking place in our lives, sometimes "right before our eyes and ears" get a bit muddled. Which always starts and "finishes with a flourish" ("grow or develop in a healthy, vigorous manner, especially the result of a particularly favorable environment"). This, even when it comes to...

Cross words or Crosswords: As in "Choice words, word choices". Make good choices, You, ME, "Live!"