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TWO RANDOM THOUGHTS
The first random thought is that we are making some sort of progress in terms of imagining supernatural creatures sending storms and hurricanes to disrupt our lives. At the moment those of us on the east coast of the United States are preparing to deal with Hurricane Irene. It threatens to uproot our trees, blow…
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PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALLETH
Those of you who are familiar with the literature of the Bible will recognize the title of this essay as a corruption of a verse from Proverbs. Specifically the verse comes from Chapter 16, Verse 18. That verse in its unexpurgated form holds that pride goes before a fall. Because this essay is being dictated…
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MISSING THE BLUES
It is a biological fact that as men age, the more girlfriends they acquire. Last week, I had a long conversation with just such a girlfriend where the attraction between the two of us goes back for more than 30 years. If you read Ezra’s Essays closely, you will find that the girlfriend was a…
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FRANCESCO’S QUESTION
Every nine weeks I visit a podiatrist associated with the Summit Medical Group. He takes care of ingrown nails and all of the other problems that afflict the feet. Francesco is a nice fellow in his early forties who laughingly mentioned that if his children remained in parochial schools, he would have to be working…
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HEY, MICHELE, PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTION
This essay is being dictated on Sunday, the morning after the straw poll in Iowa was taken. In the straw poll, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul each finished with about 30% of the vote. She was fractionally better than Ron Paul, so she claimed a victory. Mind you, this is 30% of the vote in…
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THE POWER OF PRAYER
A casual observer reading the title of this essay might conclude that it is a religious essay. But that is not the case at all. I believe that upon further examination, the contents of this essay will be revealed to be totally political. I have nothing against doing religious essays, but in this case it…
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A REVISIT TO THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS
Sven Lernevall is my long-time friend from Sweden. From all appearances, Sven speaks the Swedish language with great proficiency. I will have to rely on expert witnesses whom I trust to testify to Sven’s use of the Swedish language. Beyond that, Sven and his wife Ella speak an elegant brand of the English language. On…
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THE DESCENDENTS OF ABRAHAM ARE LOUSY CUTTERS OF GRASS
In mid-July of 2011, a giant dome formed over the eastern states. The result was several days of temperatures exceeding 90°. On one of those Sundays during the period of the dome, a major sound reached my ears. It was a one-lung engine, which was mounted on a lawnmower. The sound came from my immediate…
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A MATTER OF INTROSPECTION
These lines are being dictated on a Sunday, September 11, 2011. This of course is the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon. Further, it also marks the anniversary of American Flight 93 that was downed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania in a heroic action by the passengers. …
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MITT ROMNEY’S TERRIBLE SLUMP
Under ordinary circumstances, I do not become involved in Republican politics at any level. However in this year of 2011, the entertainment value of the Republican primary season is totally compelling. Among other things, there is Herman Cain who strikes me as a professional comedian. Cain is capable of stating a position and contradicting it…