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GUNS
The title suggests that the subject for this essay is guns. If there is a more unqualified writer on this particular subject, he is unknown to man or beast. I have never owned a firearm. I do not ever intend to buy one. Now it is true that from the early part of 1943 through…
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LOVE, LUST, AND LARCENY
It is a rare case when I have the opportunity to write an essay on love, lust, and $65 billion in larceny. There is also the element of infidelity in an extra-marital affair in this essay. According to the New York Times, the Bloomberg News, and several other publications which appeared on August 14th, a…
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GREED GETS ITS JUST REWARDS
Two or three years ago, the stock market was humming along at somewhere in excess of 13,000. A good many people were working and prosperity was in the air everywhere. It was in this era of prosperity that the New York Mets, the New York Giants, and the local professional football teams in New York…
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THREE LITTLE WORDS
I am well aware that there is a song called “Three Little Words” whose lyrics have to do with amorous adventures. The three little words that have been roving around in my intellect have nothing to do with love or marriage. The three little words in this essay include a new word called “incentivizing.” Then…
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A REPRISE ON THISA AND THATA
Those of you who read Ezra’s Essays may recall an essay on Ben Bernie. He was a popular orchestra leader from the 1920s through the end of the 1950s. When he was pleased with the performance of his orchestra, he would say, “Yousa, yousa, yousa.” And when he was going to play a variety of…
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THE GREAT SUBTRACTION CRISIS
In the past two months Americans and, indeed, the rest of the civilized world have been troubled by the banking crisis as well as the collapse on Wall Street. Recent reports suggest that the banks are now turning a hefty profit and reading the stock tables will suggest that the stock market is recovering. From…
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CONCUPISCENCE
The Reverend Charles E. Coughlin was a Catholic priest in Royal Oak, Michigan, who had a radio contract to deliver weekly sermons. I am not certain as to the extent of the network that he broadcast over but am reasonably certain that it covered the eastern half of the United States. His broadcasts started in…
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THE THREE-BASE ERROR
In the great game of baseball, if a fielder lets a ground ball go between his legs or if an outfielder fails to catch the ball and the runner winds up on third base, it is called a three-base error. Errors of this sort are to be avoided like the plague. But I am involved…
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THE BEST
I know that this essay will arouse some antagonisms but it has been in my mind for several months and it must now be dictated, regardless of the outcome. The essay here will have to do with the best workers, and those who seem to enjoy life in the fullest. According to my estimates, the…
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Re: ODE TO COMMODE
Editor’s note: This is a response (written 12/17) to my commentary on this essay. This was the commentary — A moving piece, to be sure. I wonder though — the toilet might have been the last thing Pop saw, but I wonder about some of the other absolutes. What’s the prettiest thing that he remembers…