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THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS
My eighth-grade teacher was a plump woman who would have been greatly pleased if someone had mistakenly identified her as an English poet. She wore shoes that went out of style after the First World War and she loved to read from her book of poems by English poets. Beyond that, Miss Maxwell loved the…
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DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Around the middle of October, the Roman Catholic Pope in the Vatican made a very surprising announcement. On that occasion he invited the Church of England, which had been separated for 478 years from the Catholic Church, to rejoin his flock. As an inducement, the Pope said that married preachers could remain married and, after…
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REDEMPTION IN TEXAS FOOTBALL
This is a short story with a happy ending. I spend very little time worrying about football and certainly less time worrying about Texas football. But in this case, I was indeed devoted to the outcome. It seems that earlier in the 2009 football season the quarterback of the University of Texas football team gave…
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VICKS
During a recent prolonged hospital stay, I found that the hospital bedroom was largely unheated. It seems to me that, in an effort to save some money, hospitals are now abiding by the New York apartment heating rule. Under that rule, landlords are not obliged to furnish heat until October 1st. In any case, my…
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THE POLITICS OF WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS
According to the Jewish calendar, the year is 5770. In the calendars that non-Jewish folks use, the year is identified as 2009 in the current era. Whether the year is 5770 or 2009 makes very little difference in writing this preposterous essay. It is preposterous because three countries use antiquated systems for weights and measurements.…
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UPON GIVING ADVICE TO THE PRESIDENT
I ordinarily do not give advice to sitting United States Presidents because I know it will probably never reach them and if it does it will probably be ignored. But if my thoughts have any currency at the moment, I would like them to be transmitted to Barack Obama. Point one is that he should…