Reflections... on Four-Letter Words

Having spent two years in the Navy, I've probably heard all the four-letter words there are, but for the life of me, I can't think of more than four or five that aren't nice. newspapers and most magazines, at least the ones you'd want to leave on your coffee table, occasionally will have to use a four-letter word in a direct quotation, but of course they all come out as ----, or sometimes the first letter and then three dashes. That really doesn't leave much to the imagination; we can all fill in the dashes.

The fact is, some of the nicest words in the English language are four-letter words, and many of them are particularly appropriate to Lambda Chi Alpha.

CARE certainly is an essential element in a fraternity. To knokw that there are borthers who care for you from the first day you join until the day you die is a manifestation of a unique kind of bond, rarely found outside the immediate family. But it's there, and we have all felt it.

HOME is another great four-letter word, and in fraternity, it means more than a physical structure... in fact, many chapters don't have a house, but they all have a home in Lambda Chi Alpha. It's been said that home is where the heart is, and the heart of Lambda Chi Alpha is in its brothers -- knowing no geographic or regional boundaries, and knowing no generational barriers. The arms of brothers, young and old, are joined together in a beautiful blending of generations. In less than seventy-five years, some 150,000 men have found a home in Lambda Chi Alpha.

GOOD is another good four-letter word, but BEST is even better. Somehow, in Lambda Chi Alpha, we have never been satisfied with anything less than the best... in its members, in its programs, in its officers in its staff, in its chapters.

HOPE is a beautiful word, too. We've recorded in these pages from time to time the almost miraculous rejuvenation of chapters which had been on the verge of dying. But through the HARD WORK (a nice combination of two four-letter words) of a lot of people -- undergraduates, alumni, fraternity staff, college administrators -- they made it back to respectability and stability. On the personal level, we have probably all known brothers who have had deep personal troubles -- financial, alcohol, drugs, job, you name it -- but who have had their hope revived and sustained by caring brothers. Many of us have been on the receiving end of such CARE and HELP; the Fraternity was there when we needed it.

I don't know how or when the salutation, "DEAR so-and-so" originated as the way we start letters from one to another, but I hope it never changes. I realize, of course, that we use "Dear" even in letters of complaint regarding an impersonal computer-generated overcharge on our monthly gas bill, but I assure you that when you receive a "Dear Brother" letter from me asking you to support Lambda Chi Alpha with a contribution, the "Dear" is genuine and sincere. This Fraternity is very dear to me, and you are very dear to me, though I may never have met you personally.

Speaking of support, the four-letter words GIVE and GIFT are endemic to Lambda Chis. Your support of the Alumni Loyalty Fund last year set an all-time record of nearly $217,000, almost a fourth of the operating budget of the fraternity! Without that support, we could not possibly provide the quality programming and staffing needed to keep Lambda Chi Alpha in the forefront of fraternities.

I wish THANKS were a four-letter word so I could use it to show our appreciation for all you haev done and continue to do for your fraternity. But that will have to wait until I do a "Reflections" column on six-letter words. Have you made your gift to Lambda Chi Alpha this year? if you have notk, the second request for a gift is in your hands now. Please give thoughtful consideration to making a generous gift to the Alumni Loyalty Fund -- and the word GENEROUS is determined only by your personal circumstances.

XMAS is certainly a nice four-letter word, though personally, I prefer the nine-letter version. Regardless, as you read this, the Christmas season is upon us, and it gives me the opportunity to wish you and your family the very best wishes for a happy holdiay season and a 1982 filled with joy, success and happiness.

Now I know you've been waiting for me to use the one four-letter word that best reflects what we all feel in Lambda Chi Alpha, and I won't disappoint you. In our daily lives and experiences, there abideth many wonderful four-letter wors, but in Lambda Chi Alpha, the greatest of these is LOVE.