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THE LANGUAGE ACCORDING TO MITT ROMNEY
Willard “Mitt” Romney is in a pitched battle during the Republican primaries with Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is a master at spinning a phrase in the English language. Mr. Romney, on the other hand, does not know his backside from third base. But two additions to the American language pronounced by Mr. Romney compelled my…
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SEXUAL MATTERS
For a good number of years, I have been pursuing the art of a wordsmith. But all of that has now gone by the wayside as we have seen the Republican primaries take place. Much to my dismay, the aspirants to Barack Obama’s job have brought up a collection of terms of which I am…
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FURTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS
In recent weeks I have been listening to television and radio reports about something “going viral.” I was having a hard time trying to realize what the phrase “going viral” meant. My wife, who pampers me, explained that “going viral” simply meant that the report had gained a tremendous amount of circulation. I could have…
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TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME
It is common knowledge that as men grow older, their bodies perform less well. That is of course a fact of life. But medical science will not end until the ends of time are reversed. Men of 75 or so will act as though time had not done its work of deterioration on their bodies.…
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THE RHODE ISLAND RED ROOSTER
From the beginning to the end, this essay embraces about 85 years of the life of the author. On the other hand, this essay embraces perhaps 40 years of the life of the red rooster that is the title of this piece. During the last half of the 1920s, my father was employed by the…
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A.W.K. UND STALIES
As most of you are aware, I spent a good part of my time with the Bell System in the field of labor relations. The management of AT&T, principally Verne Bagnell, decided in July of 1951 that I should become a management employee. There were two moves in the future to Kansas City and then…
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KEEPERS OF BROTHERS
Dear Brothers and Sisters: The scriptural text for this morning’s sermon is taken from Genesis 4 verses 8 and 9. These verses say as follows: And Cain talked with Abel, his brother. It came to pass when they were in the field; Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him. The Lord said…
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KNIVES, EVERYDAY AND SUNDAY
In this essay I am going to be talking only about pocket knives, as distinguish from knives that are meant to kill. I suspect that this again is an exercise in nostalgia. Looking back more than 70 or 75 years ago, there was a custom having to do with knives. My father, for example, would…
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MILITARY SPEAK
Those of you who have followed Ezra’s Essays know of my interest in language. For example, on several occasions I have pointed out that my parents spoke “country speak.” When I go to the physician’s office, he speaks “doctor speak.” That will give you an idea of what is in store in the following essay.…
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IN PRAISE OF…
According to my notepad, I had wanted to dictate an essay entitled “In Praise of Running Water and Flushing Toilets.” Further down on my notepad, I discovered an entry called “In Praise of the Forgettery.” These are different subjects but because I make the rules around here, it seemed to me that the two of…