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BIRDS DO IT, BEES DO IT, EVEN EDUCATED FLEAS DO IT or HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE
Your ancient essayist will be on medical leave for an indeterminate period. He has suffered a sledge hammer blow to his lustful heart and his dainty psyche. Recovery is an iffy thing, and rightly so, when the depth of the damage is considered. The old essayist is looking now for a secluded sanatorium where psychiatric…
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STAYING THE COURSE
Every American essayist prays for a week like this one – even atheists, the Dunkers, and the non-believers ask the One Great Intelligent Designer to give them a week where preachers and politician-preachers become so bollixed up that the whole world shakes its head in puzzlement. The only thing missing is for Charley, the Prince…
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A WORD OR TWO ABOUT MATE, JOE AND YANK – AND STAYING STRONG | Meditations Chapter 18: First and Third Verses
Earlier this month, the news from Australia was profoundly disturbing. An element of the government there suggested that the Aussie population would be asked to avoid the use of “Mate” in addressing other people, Aussie or foreign. When John Howard the Prime Minister heard of this proposed edict, he denounced it – which is as…
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OH, DIDN’T HE RAMBLE | Meditations: Chapter 17, Verses Amu to Emu
For good reasons, New Orleans remains in the news. Its prominence in the news may go on for years. Two events account for our attention to New Orleans these days. The first is the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The second is a presumably powerful prayer released by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who claims…
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FROM VAUDEVILLE TO MLK, JR. | Meditations 16, Anonymous Verses
Vaudeville is now largely dead having been a victim of first radio comedians and later, the comedies appearing on television. In the Catskill Mountain of New York, where many of its patrons are Jewish, there still are “tummlers” who tell Yiddish jokes and who good naturedly insult guests. My recollection of vaudeville goes back to…
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SATURDAY AFTERNOON THOUGHTS DURING AUGUST HEAT | Meditations Chapter 14: Verses Amos to Andy
It may be that the string of temperatures of over 90 degrees has gotten to the old essayist. For an old geezer from St. Louis where the summer temperatures are reminiscent of the home that Satan enjoys, it must be said that the heat is more than impressive. All of this leads to a series…
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FROM THE FRIENDLY WHITE HOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE
If you were alive in January of 2001, you may recall that George W. Bush ascended to the Presidency of this country. He got there by virtue of the ugly fact that the Supreme Court was counting the ballots. At the conclusion of the ballot count, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia issued his ruling…
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QUESTIONS IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS | Meditations: Chapter 13, Verses Pre-Genesis to Mid-Malachi
From time to time, questions come along that make me wonder if anyone else has similar questions and whether any solutions really exist. The questions are so persistent that they must be acknowledged even though there may be no answers at all. Try some of these. Verse 1: Poor Health, Men’s Division The Chief Justice…