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AR-THUR-I-TIS
What passes for a brain in my head has not been wired for introspective examination. If introspection has to do with examining one’s own mind or its contents reflectively, I am here to tell you, that’s not how my mind works. Professors and hand wringers who write op-ed pieces in newspapers and publish articles in…
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BITS AND PIECES // WOMEN’S CLOTHING AND DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
If my memory serves me correctly, the churches that my parents forced me to attend before my 14th birthday, were all pretty much united on the subject of women’s clothing. These were fundamentalist churches who had no concept of modern living or fashions. All such churches said that their preaching was Bible based without the…
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FLAGS, FLAGS – EVERYWHERE FLAGS
In November, 1945 Winter was making its frigid appearance felt in the Mississippi Valley in the general vicinity of St. Louis. Daytime temperatures had trouble in breaking the freezing point. Night time temperatures were somewhat colder. Cold in this region of the Mississippi Valley is made somewhat worse by the presence of high humidity. So…
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BITS AND PIECES | AUTOMOBILES AND MEN’S SHOES
During my formative years, it was necessary to work. This was in the Great Depression which lasted from 1929 until war broke out in December, 1941. During that time, the place where one went to buy gas or to have a car lubricated was called a filling station. Later when wordsmiths took a leading role…
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BITS AND PIECES MORE ABOUT SOME OLD CARS
My father bought a new 1914 or 1915 Mitchell touring sedan. The Mitchell had just come out. Pictures say it was a beautiful automobile, but my memory has no recollection of it at all. (see attachment) In my time, he drove straight six cylinder Studebakers. For a time, he drove a straight eight Packard. The…
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OUR PAL – SHANNON P. CATT
Writing essays is often hard work mentally for me. But all things taken together, it is pleasant work, particularly when the essays are completed. In recent months, I have been writing essays about politicians. That is sordid business. So now I am going to give myself a treat by writing about people I like, including…
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THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN ON LONG HILL DRIVE | STROKES AND THEIR AFTER EFFECTS
In December, 1987 it was necessary to perform a coronary artery bypass graft involving four vessels on the author of this essay. The surgery was performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital and was accomplished by a mixed Jewish and Irish team followed by recovery where I was attended to by some of New York’s finest…
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OIL – FROM CRAWFORD, TEXAS AND BROOKLYN?
Bush and Cheney loudly proclaim that they are oilmen. How could they in one week alienate the Arabs and Venezuela, our third largest supplier of oil? George W. Bush, The Israelis and the Venezuelans As I write this in mid-April, 2002, the crisis in the Mid-East has been going on for some time. Until April…
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THREE INTERESTING WOMEN
On Friday, after the big Christmas 2002 snowstorm had passed, the people at the opticians called to say my new eye glasses were ready to be picked up. Standing across the busy street waiting for the light to change, a man came up behind me and said, “How about the weather?” As I turned around…