I enjoy reading Randy Krrzmarzick’s columns in the Independent because I like words, too. “I Like Words” was the title of his latest column (3/21/26). He shared his thoughts on the use of the word, “fast” as in, “It is fast time our nation binds our wounds and heals.” and the etymology of the word “desultory.”

He cited Genesis as the source of why there are so many different languages, recalling the event of the building of the Tower of Babel. Rather than “fill the earth” as God had commanded after the Flood, some men decided to build a city with a tower, “so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be

scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4). Randy noted that God’s punishment was “to afflict them with different words. They could no longer communicate with each other, putting an end to their hubris and great plans.”  

I was disappointed that Randy did not use the book of Genesis earlier, when he wrote, “I have thought about the beginning of language.” He continued, “Way back in our species’ development we were all like infants who didn’t know any words … Over generations, grunts, hoots, and other sounds from our throats took on meaning.”

“Let there be light,” were the first words recorded in Genesis, spoken by God as He began His work of creating the heavens and the earth. The first words recorded, spoken by the man God formed “from the dust of the ground, breathing into his nostrils the breath of life,” were spoken after God made a woman from one of Adam’s ribs and brought her to Adam. (Genesis 2:23) The devil, using the form of a serpent, also used words, as did Eve. Fortunately for all mankind, God had the final Word. Adam and Eve did not die forever — the punishment they deserved for disobeying God. Instead God promised to send One who would be born of a woman so He could die in their place and for our sins, too. But Jesus’ death on a cross, a criminals’ punishment,  became our gift of eternal life when Jesus rose from the dead on the Sunday celebrated as Easter.

As Randy noted in his column, we can share the gift of words with our children. God spoke His words to the world and said, “Just believe.”

Trudy Madetzke

Marshall