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FORMS OF ALLIED MILITARY ADDRESS
It is fortunate that during World War II, a good many of the Allies spoke English. Of course there were the Brits, who included the Scots, the Irish, and the Welsh. Then there were the Australians and the Canadians. All of them spoke English. My thought here today is to recognize the forms of address,…
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A FIVE-STAR QUINELLA
For a number of years, I have kept two dictating machines on a table near my desk. On the left side, there is a machine that I use to dictate what I hope is the final product for Mrs. Baker, the transcriber. On the right side, there is a machine that keeps notes for titles…
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TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME
It is common knowledge that as men grow older, their bodies perform less well. That is of course a fact of life. But medical science will not end until the ends of time are reversed. Men of 75 or so will act as though time had not done its work of deterioration on their bodies.…
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MY OWN LITTLE MAPLE TREE
In 1969, I was enjoying my life as a lobbyist in Washington for the great AT&T Company. As summer was about to turn into fall, the great AT&T Company decided that my talents were needed back in New York. Time was short as my two children were required to return to school. When I came…
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UN OR NON
On a few occasions, these essays have introduced you to Miss Maxwell, my eighth grade teacher. She was the one who wore high-buttoned shoes and loved to recite English poetry to the consternation of her students. Miss Maxwell was also a bear cat on hour-on-hour learning the rules of English grammar. Diagramming sentences provided a…
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TIME
Perhaps I should spend more time in my bathroom in view of the fact that the preponderance of ideas that occur for these essays come to me during my bathroom visits. I am not alone in extolling the virtues of the bathroom. John Munro, the wonderfully gifted artist and composer, wrote a song not long…
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THE RHODE ISLAND RED ROOSTER
From the beginning to the end, this essay embraces about 85 years of the life of the author. On the other hand, this essay embraces perhaps 40 years of the life of the red rooster that is the title of this piece. During the last half of the 1920s, my father was employed by the…
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REFLECTIONS ON THE WAHHABI
At the outset, it might be well for the author of this essay to explain the title. In round numbers, the Prophet Mohammed lived about 1500 years ago. The Prophet took several wives and they produced several children. But if my understanding is nearly correct, two of his grandsons founded competing brands of the Muslim…
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Tom Scandlyn Response: Country Speak
[Note from Kevin — Tom, a 92-year-old friend of Pop’s for many years, wrote this after reading “Black Speak” but his response primarily concerns essays about “Country Speak,” of which I published an example very recently. Alternatively, view all of Pop’s essays on language here.] In math sigma means the sum of. The limits…
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LICKING
I believe that it is time for us to have another adventure in country speak. Country speak is a variation of the English language. It is a language unto itself. The subject for today’s lesson in country speak is “lick.” That word is hardly ever conjugated because to do so would lead you astray. If…