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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…
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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,…
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“…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. …
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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…
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LITTLE PEOPLE
I deplore the name “little people,” but it was bequeathed to us by Leona Helmsley, the wealthy woman who, at the end of her life, controlled the predominant interest in the Helmsley hotel chain and real estate. Throughout her life, Leona made other people as uncomfortable as possible. Upon her death, rather than giving money…
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IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS
In the fall of 1997, Shirley Morganstein was the Director of Speech Therapy at the Kessler Rehabilitation Institute in West Orange, New Jersey. In November of that year, I had a stroke that had spared my limbs but had left me with a galloping case of aphasia, which is why I consulted Shirley Morganstein. Thirteen…
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PEPSI COLA HITS THE SPOT
The cast of characters in this essay is humungous. I have no idea what humungous means, but youngsters use that term and it is a lot better than some of their other expressions. Now on to the characters. First there were my playmates, Billy Seyfried, Timoteo Marcellan, and Charlie Baldridge. Beyond those playmates, there is…
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FATHER’S DAY BAFFLEMENT
When I had an exalted position with AT&T, I would refer baffling questions to my secretaries. Three of those secretaries remain in touch and I would probably refer my current Father’s Day bafflement to them. Those three are Althea Scheller, Pat Impellizari, and Lorraine Grant Murray. My first bafflement has to do with the term,…
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WHEN IT IS ASS-KICKING TIME ALONG THE POTOMAC
My efforts recently have been consumed by writing a song, which is the title of this essay. Sometimes the song seems to be a lullaby and at other times it becomes a dirge. But with the President now in the ass-kicking mode, perhaps it becomes a march or a patriotic song, such as “America the…
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ANOTHER CLOWN STORY
After Tony Hayward finished his grueling testimony before a House committee, he flew back to England, most likely in a private jet that BP owns. Some time on Friday or Saturday, Hayward was told that he had been replaced on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill by a Mississippi State graduate who formerly was his…