Since my most recent post — though some would argue eight months ago cannot be called recent — dealt with high school, let’s pick up there.

My friend Jim in high school was the first unabashedly grand gay individual in my experience.  Gay was of course unspoken, given the times, but grand was not.  A scaled-down Auntie Mame in a somewhat Baby Huey physique.

Jim was the author of the title of this post.  In actual usage, when someone was being troublesome or faint, he’d say, “Oh don’t be such a Ramona Rumquerst!”

Now, I have not a notion from whence this scold came, but wouldn’t you imagine I’d have investigated before sixty years had passed?

Finally, I have.

“Rumquerst” (often spelled rumqueren or herumqueren) is a German colloquial verb.  It means to dwell on, fret over, or be troubled by past issues, sins, or negative thoughts.

It is often used in a context similar to “struggling with,” “agonizing over,” or “constantly ruminating on” something, as seen in the phrase “dass du dich mit alten Sünden rumquerst” (that you are constantly agonizing over old sins).

Though I may be laying myself bare — ‘Oh, everyone knows that word! — I do believe I am gifting you this word.  I leave it to you the find a spot in your conversations.