Someone around me used a word recently that I hadn't heard in decades.

Gallivanting.

I forget the context it was used, but since I didn't know the definition very precisely, I had to rely on my dictionary.

Merriam Webster defines gallivanting as: 1: To go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex. 2: To travel, roam, or move about for pleasure.

In our younger days, I suppose most of us could be considered guilty of gallivanting around, no matter what definition you use.

Now that I look back, gallivanting around was a blast, with little downside, back in those free-and-easy days before work and families cut in on the roaming around.

And the more I think about it, the more gallivanting needs to be done (Granted, I'm talking about definition No. 2) in our hectic, all-work, no-play society.

Gallivanting worked best when you had no daily agenda and a few willing partners in crime, er, friends that were up for anything.

Being adaptive and receptive to whatever opportunities pop up are the cornerstones to gallivanting.

Case in point: soon after I was married, my wife and I were visiting her parents in the mountains. It was a nice, laid-back sort of day, and gallivanting wasn't really in the forecast.

At any rate, we decided to take a walk, and soon wound up at a neighbor's house. The neighbor had an immaculate garden, and we got to wander through it and appreciate the hard work she had put into this little slice of Eden.

About the time we arrived back at my in-law's house, a distress call came from the next-door neighbor. They had some plumbing issues, and could we help out?

The request wasn't that peculiar, but the way the neighbor was dressed - in full nun's habit - had me intrigued.

Sure, we said, and off I went for my first, and to this date only, trip to a convent.

I wanted to see how nuns lived. How personal or non-personal were their private spaces? That was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Turned out the nuns just had a loose washing machine hose, and a few wrench turns stopped the leak. The sisters were appreciative of our efforts, and on the way out, my eyes scanned a few open doors, with nothing personal on the walls, only a few small, framed portraits of Jesus. Hmm... just as I suspected.

Yep, the day didn't turn out one bit as I had envisioned. Not exactly a wild day, but how often does one get to visit the garden of Eden and help out those closer to God all in the same afternoon? I felt very biblical for the rest of the evening, and it was no doubt the most wholesome gallivanting I have ever done.

In this day and age of government shutdowns, national security faux pas and health care up-in-the-air, moving about for pleasure seems downright mandatory.

So tell your boss I said it's OK to do a little gallivanting now and then. Chances are they'll be jealous and put some time aside to gallivant themselves.

Again, I'm talking about definition No. 2.

Jerry Hitchcock doesn't really expect you to give your boss an ultimatum. If you do, that's on you. You can attempt to reach Jerry at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at [email protected].