Comme ci, comme ça

I was riding in an elevator in a Manhattan office building with two young French women.

"How was your weekend?" said one in a lovely Parisian accent.

"Comme ci, comme ça," said the other dismissively.

"No-no-no-no-no," scolded the first. "This is America. Don't say 'comme ci, comme ça'. They say 'Awesome'. Always say 'Awesome'."

Awesome well expresses the Can-Do attitude that we Americans are known for around the world. How can we be anything but Can-Do with so much awesomeness surrounding us? When you expect something awesome around every corner, you can't wait to get around every corner to experience it.

The way things have been going lately in the world, though, I'm afraid it's difficult to see much to get awesomed about. Depress-somed is more like it, at least for an old-timer like me.

Some of my contemporaries tell me they think "awesome" is overused, but I would much rather hear "awesome" than "comme ci, comme ça" from the young people I know. "That was an awesome game last night." "This burger is awesome." "You are an awesome dad."

All right, I don't hear that last one too often. But when I do,it's...well, you know.