Well, Dam

I grew up in a household that was fairly strict about swearing, which is why I have a goody-two-shoes vocabulary that's almost comical.

But the adults around me did let cuss words slip out every once in a while, and that's how, at age 6, I exclaimed, "Damn it!" while walking through the kitchen.

I don't remember why. But I do remember that my Mom sent me to my room to think about what I'd said.

There was a problem, though. I didn't really know why what I'd said was "bad." I just knew it got me sent to my room.

A little while later, I tiptoed back down the hall and told my Mom I'd say "rats!" when I was angry, like they did in Peanuts cartoons. She said that was acceptable and gave me a hug.

I took swearing seriously after that. When the Eagles released "Hotel California," I was shocked to hear "hell" on the radio when I was in the car with my parents.

And when my family started spending vacations on a lake in New Hampshire, I was especially careful. Our cottage was close to a concrete structure that held back most of the lake water, letting a small amount overflow into a stream below. We could walk and swim to it, and sometimes teenagers would hang out there.

The darn at Highland Lake in Stoddard, New Hampshire. The bottom line read, "Help us to keep this DAM clean!'

I called it the darn. No way was I getting caught saying "dam" again!

I called it the darn. No way was I getting caught saying "dam" again!

My dad was a little more relaxed. He didn't like swearing either, but he made an exception when Jim Croce's "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" was on the radio.

What a joy to be with Dad in the garage and sing:

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown

Baddest man in the whole damn town

Badder than old King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

Did you grow up with rules about swearing and cussing? How did you learn what the words meant? Do you use them now?