-
ESTHER REZOAGLI AND THE MERITS OF BEING BORN UNWEALTHY
Rodney Dangerfield was a comedian who during his lifetime claimed that he “got no respect.” Dangerfield was a happy comedian who coined a maxim or two. One of his maxims was, “I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor, and believe me, rich is better.” In this essay, I will contend that there is merit in being…
-
THE AMERICAN ARMY: AN EXERCISE IN TREACHERY
This essay is being written during the first week in March, 2007. I am assuming that by this time every American knows about the scandal at the Walter Reed medical facilities in Washington. The commanding general of the hospital, as well as his successor, and the Secretary of the Army have been relieved of their…
-
“IT DON’T MEAN I DON’T”
It has been 71 years and three months since I last saw Miss Maxwell, my eighth grade teacher. That period has passed with little lament from your old essayist. For most of the boys in Miss Maxwell’s eighth grade class, I think it would be fair to say that if the lamentable and regrettable period…
-
TALL TALES AND STORY TELLING
The restaurant that my wife and I patronize almost exclusively is called Basilico, which of course is the Italian word for basil. Basilico was founded by two Italian immigrants who came here from Imperia, Italy in the mid 1980s. They worked for another Italian until they could establish their own place which has now gone…
-
PASSED BALLS AND WILD PITCHES
When anyone has lived as long as I have, it would be foolish to claim that there have not been some mistakes along the way. The Great Decider may differ with that conclusion, but he is busy trying to extricate the United States from the mess he has created in Iraq. These are some of…
-
MAKING FRIENDS
Making friends has always come easily to me. I find that a handshake and calling the other person by his name tends to open the door to new friendships. Showing an interest in what the other person is doing or where he has lived tends to promote that friendship. My father did not have that…
-
ON BECOMING ENSNARLED IN ONE’S OWN JOCKSTRAP
The title of this essay is perhaps misleading in that only a small portion of it has to do with athletic supporters. Primarily it has to do with the stupidity of the federal government and the great state of New Jersey in demanding that every automotive driver have a photograph on his driver’s license. This…
-
NEWS FROM TEXAS
Miriam A. Ferguson was married to the governor of Texas in the early part of the 1920s. Unfortunately, her husband was impeached and lost the governorship. He recommended to his fellow Texans that they should elect his wife. And so it was that Mrs. Ferguson, popularly known as Ma, which represented her first two initials,…
-
“…UNTIL THOUGHT AND MEMORY ADJOURN” AND/OR “UNTIL THE SEAS RUN DRY”
Those of you who follow these essays know that in recent years there have been a number of essays devoted to women who have my admiration. Women do not have the best of it in this life. From the beginning, their strength is less than that of men and their earning power is often similarly…
-
BELLS
After my essay on “Whistles” was completed, it struck me that as a matter of equity, there should be a story about bells. Bells and whistles are in the same family of sounds that enhance our lives. So here are my thoughts about bells. From my earliest days on the Lilac Roost Dairy Farm in…