Month: May 2017

  • FURTHER THOUGHTS IN PRAISE OF NON

    Recently I dictated an essay in praise of what I believe is a prefix in the English language. That prefix had to do with the word “non.” You will remember – or I hope you will remember – that I wrote in that essay that I was asked many years ago to identify my daughters.…

  • ONE OF THOSE MUSICAL MEMORIES

    This essay is an exercise in my own personal nostalgia. It may well be that it will not resonate with many of my readers. But if you will stick with me for a few minutes, you may be enthralled and entertained. Or you may just be bored. The Carr family had three of us who…

  • HOW COLOSSALY DUMB CAN YOU GET?

    I have never been a member of the Roman Catholic Church. In whatever is left in my life, I do not expect to ever become a member of that faith. The leader of that faith calls himself a pope When it comes to doctrine, I must cite my profound belief in principles. For example, I…

  • A TREATISE ON WHILES AND WHENS

    This essay has to do with while I am here and secondly, when I am gone. An Australian composer of great note recently produced a memorable work which he called, “While I Am Here.” His name is John Munro. He is originally from Scotland and has long since assumed Australian citizenship. After listening to John…

  • AMAZING GRACE

    As I sit down to dictate these lines, it is a cold morning in January. With a prayerful thought, January will soon be over. This essay will not be a religious one. Worse than that, it will combine the third rail of all essays in that it will comment upon politics and religion. The title…

  • PISSANTRIES, POLITICS, AND A GORGEOUS MISTRESS

    I generally keep my notes for future essays in my head but in some cases on an old dictating machine on my desk. Two of these notes appeared simultaneously and I thought that there were enough similarities that they could be married together. The first essay has to do with the ancient word for an…

  • THE MOTHER TONGUE AGAIN REVISITED

    In previous essays I have always credited Sven Lernevall of Stockholm with the observation that the English language is a rich language. Sven’s native tongue is Swedish and he has mastered the English language gracefully. When I comment on the mother tongue, it seems to me that the comments tend to be endless. I suspect…

  • THE MOTHER TONGUE REVISITED

    For better or worse, I was born in this country and so my mother tongue is the language of the Anglo-Saxons. Those of us who speak the English language are quite fortunate in that the language of the Anglo-Saxons has now become the lingua franca of the world. Perhaps one of the reasons for the…