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SUMMERS AND/OR SOMMERS
I have consulted with grammar experts here and in New York City and the general conclusion is that the title to this essay is something like an adverb. I was largely unschooled on the matter of grammar in the English language. So if there is a mistake in the labeling of this title as an…
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TWO TAXING QUESTIONS
Over the years, readers of these essays will recall my references to my friend in Sweden, whose name is Sven Lernevall. You will be surprised to know that one of Sven’s friends is a slightly younger person named Christer Flink. My understanding is that when Sven reached the age of retirement, he was succeeded in…
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WELCOME HOME?
Last Sunday night the President of the United States held a dinner to which veterans of the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war were invited. Obviously the President could not have all of those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to one dinner. I do not know how the veterans were chosen to gather for…
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WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU…
It may come as a surprise to some younger readers that there was a time in this country when there was no such thing as instant communications. As a matter of fact, my family did not have a telephone until some time in the vicinity of 1935. My mother, who was home all day, was…
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FORMS OF ALLIED MILITARY ADDRESS
It is fortunate that during World War II, a good many of the Allies spoke English. Of course there were the Brits, who included the Scots, the Irish, and the Welsh. Then there were the Australians and the Canadians. All of them spoke English. My thought here today is to recognize the forms of address,…
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A FIVE-STAR QUINELLA
For a number of years, I have kept two dictating machines on a table near my desk. On the left side, there is a machine that I use to dictate what I hope is the final product for Mrs. Baker, the transcriber. On the right side, there is a machine that keeps notes for titles…
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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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MY OWN LITTLE MAPLE TREE
In 1969, I was enjoying my life as a lobbyist in Washington for the great AT&T Company. As summer was about to turn into fall, the great AT&T Company decided that my talents were needed back in New York. Time was short as my two children were required to return to school. When I came…
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UN OR NON
On a few occasions, these essays have introduced you to Miss Maxwell, my eighth grade teacher. She was the one who wore high-buttoned shoes and loved to recite English poetry to the consternation of her students. Miss Maxwell was also a bear cat on hour-on-hour learning the rules of English grammar. Diagramming sentences provided a…
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TIME
Perhaps I should spend more time in my bathroom in view of the fact that the preponderance of ideas that occur for these essays come to me during my bathroom visits. I am not alone in extolling the virtues of the bathroom. John Munro, the wonderfully gifted artist and composer, wrote a song not long…