Everyone has them. Maybe you just call them something different than I do, but you have them. The times when you have to say something quickly that completely encompasses the moment. Or when something happens and it just slips out – You don’t mean to say anything, it just happens. I call them “Dude” moments. The somewhat recent Budlite commercials have done a very good job of making us all aware of the various meanings that the word Dude can have and they show several good examples of its proper usage. I bet beside the F word, Dude just may be one of the most flexible words in the English language.

Just in the past couple of months, I have had the opportunity to drop some very different Dudes on people. There was the joyful Dude I threw out when Bob informed us that we landed a new (really big) supplier and that we should expect about 4 trucks of lighting gear in the next week. Always nice to know you have work for the next few months and well worth a hearty Dude. I popped off with a loud and proud Dude when my son played every down of the spring football practice game for the high school he begin attending in August. Then there was the stern Dude I let fly on my other son when I realized he placed a picture of our dog’s butt as the wallpaper on my cell phone (After he left the room I laughed really hard…but I couldn’t let him know he got me.) I barked a Dude at the kid that cut in front of me after waiting an hour to ride Superman at Six Flags – He did not need a translation. Lastly, I mumbled a Dude when my buddy told me his wife and my friend was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I’m not sure if that was a good use of the word, but I didn’t know what else to say….I suppose a quiet F bomb would have been more appropriate and a prayer would have been more helpful.

So, I hope you have had some positive Dude moments recently. It can be fun to try all the different usages and the meaning is rarely misunderstood. Throw a Dude at me whatever the circumstance and I will shake my head knowingly. Just don’t ever drop a “Bro” on me – Them’s fight’n words.