First Word

My grad school has a particular strength in public finance. And in
public finance, a lot of what you're doing is managing debts: issuing
bonds, planning for pension obligations, managing the cash flow to pay
it all back. So I find it particularly amusing that the first word
Jada seems to be able to say regularly (besides "mama," "dada," and
"hi," which I don't count) is "debts." Only she says it with an
emphasis on the last sound, and she drags it out by vibrating her
tongue: think Sylvester the Cat. I can't help but laugh when I hear
her say the word. And I can't help but think of her when I hear the
word in class.