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RANDOM THOUGHTS: BOTH BAD AND GOOD
In these days of the winter, I find that my mind produces some random thoughts. They don’t go together. Rather they are individual thoughts that strike me from time to time. As the title of this essay suggests, there are some bad thoughts, and quite separately, there are good thoughts. One of the least praiseworthy…
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SAVERS OF STRING
I have given this essay the title which may recall some distant memories of the Bible by calling it “Savers of String” instead of “String Savers”. Now having settled that question, I would like to dedicate it to Thelma Dupont. This essay is so dedicated to Thelma because she comes from a family larger than…
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BODY AND SOUL
This is a philosophical essayette on the condition of mankind. A learned gentleman once remarked within my hearing that he would prefer to remain in control over his intellect in the final days before his body gave out. This assumes that the human condition is comprised of body and intellect. The learned gentleman to whom…
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LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI
As most of you know, my birth place was in a suburb of St. Louis which was seven miles west of the Mississippi River. I am aware that from time to time, the Mississippi has overflowed its banks and has caused considerable harm to the surrounding territories. I remember a flood in 1937 which resulted…
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IN PRAISE OF THE LOWLY DOOR KNOB
Most of us use the door knob on frequent occasions and think nothing of it. The purpose of this small essay is to give the proper praise to the door knob for the service that it has provided to humanity over the years. Simply put, if there were no door knobs, it would be difficult…
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UPON BEING AWESOME
I have no trouble with neologisms, clever sayings that make their way into the Anglo-Saxon language. But I do have trouble with an affectation which is widely spread among all age groups who speak the American version of the English language. The most recent such word is “awesome.” I have always thought that our exploration…
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REMARKS TO MRS. BRIBER’S FOURTH GRADE CLASS, GLENWOOD SCHOOL
All things considered, I was born in the year of 1922. I had nothing to do with the date that I was born. Those questions were settled by my parents. As it turns out, I was born the seventh child to a family who tended to the fortunes of the Lilac Roost Farm. It was…
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IT CAN’T MISS — A SHOVEL-READY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Over the past 50 years or more, I have been involved in various business opportunities but none presented as much of a shovel-ready opportunity as this one. Because this opportunity has existed for more than 50 years, you will have to hear my story as I spin it out. About 58 years ago in Chicago,…
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NON-BREAKING NEWS FROM LONG HILL DRIVE
Three non-breaking news items have occurred in recent weeks and they constitute the essence of this essay. In the past few weeks we have been met by an invasion of breaking news from Washington as well as from itinerant politicians. All things considered, the breaking news has had its share of attention. The burden of…
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MURDER IN MISSISSIPPI
As it so happens, I finished my glorious career in the Army of the United States, not the United States Army, in the great state of Mississippi. I use that title, “the great state of Mississippi,” because it is always used by politicians. In August of 1945, I had returned to this country after 28…