-
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Steven Sondheim is a magnificent composer of music. A few years back he wrote a Broadway play called “A Little Night Music.” The most prominent song in the play “A Little Night Music” is called “Send in the Clowns.” I will not bother you with the full lyrics but I must tell you that the…
-
Thanksgiving 2010
The title to this essay has underlining under the date of 2010. This is to distinguish it from an essay that was written here four years ago called “Thanksgiving 2006.” Since that essay of four years ago was written, there have been some encouraging developments. The players in this essay are Jenny M and her…
-
GIVING A (Insert Adjective) RAT’S ASS
In 1942, we were at war with the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. In the summer of that year, I joined or enlisted in the American Army. During that period dating back to 1940, there was a draft system in place which compelled young men to submit to military discipline in, most likely,…
-
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SILENCE?
When I was a youngster, John Gualdoni ran a grocery store in Brentwood, Missouri. It was located on North and South Road. The people in the grocery store were the clerks Bob and Louie, the butcher, and John himself. We had to put up with what Bob and Louie had to wisecrack about as well…
-
NOVEMBER 8, 2010
When my wife and I went to the basement this morning to begin our exercise routine for the week, Miss Chicka turned over the calendar and announced that it was November 8th. I wrestled with that thought about why this date seemed significant. Quite soon I came to realize that on November 8, 1945, I…
-
PURGATORY POLITICS
As a general principle, I try to avoid writing about religious matters because my views on that subject are well known. Simply put, I am a non-believer. But in the past week or so, I almost became a believer. There was a development that simply had to be commented upon, which is the subject of…
-
RAMPANT NOSTALGIA
This may be a twice-told tale in that in 2005 I may have dictated an essay on the same subject matter. But I have always held that the fun in story-telling belongs to the story teller. It is a lot like prayer. The person who prays feels good about himself when his prayer is finished. …
-
PUTTING A PRESIDENTIAL FOOT IN IT
Yesterday was August 22, 2010. In the op ed column of The New York Times, there were great editorials from Frank Rich, Tom Friedman, Maureen Dowd, and Nicholas Kristof. In addition to those columnists, there were essays in The Washington Post. The reason that these essays and editorial comments were written has to do with…
-
“…SMILING BASTARDS…”
Curiously, the oil spill by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico brings to mind the fate of the Mary Ellen Carter. That boat was Irish and presumably it served in the fishing trade. According to the song, as it approached its harbor the captain was drunk and the ship hit a rock and sank. …
-
STUPIDO, STUPIDO, STUPIDO
Last week, which would have been the early part of June 2010, there was an announcement by two high-level vice presidents of the General Motors Corporation, that they were going to get rid of the “Chevy” trademark. As most Americans would do, I interpreted that to mean that General Motors was going to rid itself…