By Richard Weinstein, President & COO
Ocean Reef Community Foundation
I need a motto. I’m not talking about “Just Do It” or “Reach Out and Touch Someone.” Those are corporate taglines – and fantastic ones, at that – because just reading them, you know exactly which company they represent. But if I want a motto, those pretty much don’t work—unless they’re in Latin. I mean real Latin, the kind the Romans borrowed from the Greeks and we still see on our money. E Pluribus Unum – Out of many, one.
These expressions and Latin phrases are all around us: Carpe Diem – Seize the day. Tempus Fugit – Time flies. Ante Bellum – Before the war. Et cetera, et al., ad infinitum… you get the idea. In fact, there are many common expressions and abbreviations that we use so often, we forget their origins.
Take something as simple as a memo. From: To: RE: – Well, “RE” isn’t short for “regarding” or “reply.” It comes from in re, the Latin phrase meaning “in the matter of.” And when you write that memo in the morning – say, around 9:30 AM – note that “AM” stands for Ante Meridiem, meaning “before noon,” and its counterpart, PM, is Post Meridiem.
So you write this ad hoc email – in re requesting an auction item for All Charities from a company you’ve never worked with. Typically, you’re not so bold in asking for donations, but this email, per se, is written in the tone of your alter ego – far from the status quo of how you normally interact with strangers. Turns out, it’s some of your best work. Ergo, you get exactly what you asked for. You’re no longer persona non grata! They didn’t veto your request – in fact, they’re grateful for the Foundation’s support in the surrounding communities, and vice versa.
Some things only sound Latin. Take one of the most famous rock songs of all time – the 17-minute epic that filled a whole album side, complete with a 6-minute drum solo: Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” (Admit it, you just said “baby” in your head!) This song, considered a precursor to heavy metal, took psychedelic rock in a whole new direction. But the title, as Latin as it may sound, was actually the result of a misheard lyric. The lead singer said, “In the Garden of Eden,” but the drummer, suffering the side effects of loud rock music, wrote down what he thought he heard: ipso facto, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”
Back to my Latin motto – after all, if it’s good enough for rock music and Harvard University, it should be good enough for me. I’m also thinking there might be a great market for sweatshirts with a personal motto. Maybe the Burgee Shop would sell them?
The problem is, I don’t yet have a catchy motto I love. I’d like something that reflects the work we do for the Foundation and the way we support the unique Ocean Reef way of life (Unicum Iter Vitae). It could be as simple as how we currently identify the Community Foundation: “The Heart of Ocean Reef” (Cor Oceani Reef). But I’m open to suggestions – do you have a good idea?
If we work on this together, just as we do to make All Charities and the Foundation so successful, then surely – haec olim meminisse iuvabit!
(One day, we will look back on this and smile.)
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