PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

When it comes to seeing and absorbing information, I believe there are three kinds of people in this world:

1. Those who prefer words
2. Those who prefer graphics and pictures
3. Those who prefer charts and graphs

Of course, there are folks who share portions of all of the above.

For me, I prefer words. And, for me, words matter.

Let me provide a few examples.

THE WORD “NEGATIVE:” My concern about this word arrives when, after I have had a blood test at a doctor’s office, I get a call reporting the results. The person on the other end of the phone says results were “negative.”

Say what?

When I hear that word, I often respond, “oh no, now what do I do?”

But, of course, when conveyed in such a manner, the word negative is positive. Get my drift. Nothing is wrong with the test results.

Would be better, I submit, for the response from the doctor’s office, to be something like, “there is nothing wrong based on the test.”

THE WORD “TRANSPARENT:” I cite this because, while I like the word based on its definition, I never know what it means for sure when it is uttered by a political figure.

Usually, it means what the politician wants it to mean.

The dictionary definition of transparent is a bit complicated, as follows:

• Having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen
• Admitting the passage of light through interstices (whatever that last word means)
• So sheer as to permit light to pass through; diaphanous; easily seen through, recognized, or detected

It is possible to see how this word – transparent – could illustrate the importance of open and “transparent” government. But it has come to mean what politicians want it to mean, which is to support their claim that they believe in open government.

Except the reverse is often true for many of them. They want us to know what they want us to know, not the full depth and scope of information about government issues.

So, when I hear the word “transparent” used by politicians, I am skeptical.

THE WORD “LOGISTICS”: As I drove north on I-5 earlier this weekend, I did not just notice a lot of huge trucks; I also noticed that, in many cases, adds on the sides of trucks indicated they were involved in “logistics.”

Who knows what that word means? Trucks used to be called vehicles that hauled stuff. Later, the trucks were called “transportation vehicles.” Today, many carry the moniker “logistics.”

My friends at “dictionary.com” – I consult them regularly – define logistics as this: “The planning, implementation, and coordination of the details of a business or other operation.”

So, I guess the word is appropriate. Just not one I would know how to use in regular communication about the number of big trucks on highways.