By Mike Hazlip—
A proclamation officially recognizing “Orbisculate Day” in Citrus Heights last month urges residents to embrace an unusual new word.
The term “orbisculate” was first coined by Neil Krieger while he attended Cornell University in the late 1950s and refers to the juice of a citrus fruit accidentally squirting in someone’s eye.
Krieger passed away from COVID-19 complications in April of last year, and his family is pressing on in his memory to get the word officially added to the dictionary. A website set up by the family lists 78 goals they hope will give orbisculate a wider circulation. The fifth goal on the list was for the word to be used in a tribute from the City of Citrus Heights.
Mayor Steve Miller read the proclamation aloud during the council’s May 27 meeting, concluding with a resolution to “urge all Citrus Heights community members to embrace this new word.”
Siblings Jonathan and Hillary Krieger participated in the meeting through Zoom from their home in Boston and thanked the city for embracing the word.
“I think one of the things that has been so special about what we’ve been doing is how much we’ve been able to connect with people all around the country and find a way to have something to share and have something positive in a dark time,” Hillary Krieger said.
Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins thanked the family for bringing the cause to the council’s attention.
“Thank you also for bringing some wonderful levity to us,” Bruins said. “We are so sorry for the pain and loss you’ve experienced this year, and it’s a very special tribute to Citrus Heights and to you to reach through that and bring some joy and some laughter and some commonality around the United States.”
The official date for Orbisculate Day in Citrus Heights is May 28, although a typo in the city’s agenda packet and video recording caused the date of May 27 to initially be announced.
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